Springsteen Rocks, Pols Roll in Dough With Fundraisers at Concerts

A raucous Bruce Springsteen concert, replete with sweaty, working-class anthems, would not at first blush seem like an ideal venue for guys in tailored business suits and French-cuffed shirts. But it turns out rock concerts and similar entertainment events have become favored settings for political fundraising, thanks to the easy access congressmen have to skyboxes controlled by private companies and lobbying groups.

In 2009 alone, at least 108 congressional fundraising parties were staged at Washington's three premier entertainment venues, ProPublica reported Friday.

At least 19 money-raising shindigs, almost half of them in rented luxury suites, were held at two Springsteen concerts last year. In a story Friday, ProPublica reporters Marcus Stern and Sebastian Jones spotlighted a bash hosted by Rep. Peter DeFazio, (D-Ore.), where donors buying $2,500 tickets were given seats overlooking the stage and use of a wet bar and private bathroom. DeFazio, chairman of a House transportation subcommittee, rented the suite for one night from the American Trucking Association for $2,220. But the trucking lobby made it easy on him by purchasing one of the $2,500 tickets to see "The Boss" do his thing on stage.

DeFazio wasn't alone that night last May, ProPublica said. Ten other members of Congress were also entertaining contributors as electric guitars rocked the Verizon Center, home to the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals on game nights. And the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee threw a party for House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.)

Despite the ugly publicity rained on such events during the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal in 1994, it's all legal, even though most of the congressmen's constituents would never get a whiff of a luxury suite controlled by the trucking lobby, or General Motors/NBC, or the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, to name a few of the sponsors.

As long as the lawmakers pay fair-market value for the one-night rental of the skyboxes, and abide by existing limits on contributions, they don't run afoul of campaign finance laws.

Because these fancy events are private, it's hard to say what kind of legislative business, if any, goes on during the concerts or sporting events. "The issue for them [donors] is always access, so when there's something they need, they'll be able to get in and talk," former Sen. Bill Bradley of New Jersey said.

ProPublica is a non-profit investigative reporting organization.