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Documenting the Political Partying Circuit
From the early hours of the morning until late in the evening, politicians are partying. Sunlight's PARTY TIME can help you find out who is partying, where and when.

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Super Congress Fundraisers • POSTED - 09.13.2011 BY Keenan Steiner

Super Committee members nixing some events—but not all

Another lawmaker on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., has put off a fundraiser until after the panel finishes its work.

But a spokesperson for the congressman would not answer whether he has nixed all such events through Thanksgiving, when the committee will finish its work. And no member of the committee—except Senator John Kerry, D-Mass.—has said he would cancel all of them. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, indicated he would cut back on his events and Max Baucus, D-Mont., canceled one of his.

Dave Camp at Republican Leadership Press Conference

Camp’s fundraiser, originally planned for Aug. 4 and to be hosted by former Senate Majority Leader-turned lobbyist Trent Lott, among others at the lobbying firm Patton Boggs, has not been rescheduled. And it will not take place until after the so-called super committee comes to a close, according to Camp’s spokesperson Megan Piwowar.

The event will likely be held in December, according to Camp’s fundraising consultant, Elaine Svigos.

Party Time asked Piwowar, over email, if the Michigan lawmaker would continue to hold fundraisers while the committee was working. Her response was:

“Since being named to the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, Congressman Camp has not and will not schedule new fundraising events.”

But what about events that were already scheduled before his appointment to the committee on Aug. 10? After all, many fundraisers are booked months in advance, and fundraising consultants take advantage of the summer recess to book events for the fall. Camp had also planned a fundraiser on Sept. 7, the night before the super committee’s first organizational meeting, and there is no indication that it was postponed—only that it had been on the calendar before his appointment.

Senator Rob Portman, R-Ohio, in an interview with the Cincinnati Enquirer last week, did not commit to canceling all of his events either. He told the paper, “Members aren’t going to have the time to be involved in (as many) events that they would have been. Personally, I’ve canceled a bunch of events.”

But that does not appear to include an event happening tonight, hours after the committee finishes its first hearing, Portman is the main draw to a fundraiser benefiting the campaign of Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Ohio. And he still plans to be there, according to the event's organizer.

“The latest I’ve heard, yes,” Chabot’s fundraising consultant Mackenzie Smith said this morning. Portman’s press secretary was not immediately available to confirm this.

Portman is among the nine lawmakers on the 12-member committee who are known to be holding or hosting events since being appointed to the committee.

*note: This post has been updated to reflect that John Kerry had announced he would not raise money while the committee meets.

PARTYFINDER™ Hints

Beneficiary: congressional candidate, lawmaker, or entity which collects funds raised at party

Host: person who is hosting party-often, but not always, a registered federal lobbyist

Venue Name: where the party is

Entertainment Type: type of gathering, such as "breakfast," "ski trip," "bowling"

Other Lawmakers Mentioned: lawmakers mentioned on invitation who are used as a draw for the event

Note: You may wonder why you often see repeat entries for the same party. Sometimes we receive the same invitation from more than one source. We are working on eliminating these duplicates.

Sunlight's Party Time is a project to track parties for members of Congress or congressional candidates that happen all year round in Washington, D.C. and beyond. (read more)

We also post information we receive about parties where members of Congress are expected to participate—such as convention or inaugural parties.

Since we don't hear about all the parties, you can also tell us if you know where the party is and we don't.

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