How Lobbyists and Lawmakers Bond During Springsteen Concerts

WASHINGTON, D.C. – As Bruce Springsteen belted out his working-class anthems on the floor of the Verizon Center last May, Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., chairman of the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee, was raising money in the privacy of a luxury suite overlooking the stage.

Ten other members of Congress were also asking for cash that night. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was there, too, holding a fundraiser featuring Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the Financial Services Committee. It was the ultimate in multitasking for the politicians -- three hours of the Boss for free while raising thousands of dollars for their campaigns and political action committees, or leadership PACs.

DeFazio’s aerie came with 18 tickets and a wet bar, televisions and a private bathroom. His campaign rented it for $2,220 from the American Trucking Associations (ATA), whose legislative agenda focuses heavily on the highway matters that pass before DeFazio’s subcommittee. DeFazio then "sold" individual seats in the box to campaign donors for $2,500 a ticket. ATA’s PAC snapped up one of those seats, which meant DeFazio effectively got the suite for free and an ATA representative got to play host.

At least 19 congressional fundraisers were held at Springsteen’s two Washington concerts last year, almost half of them in boxes rented from companies or organizations with business before the committees of the lawmakers who used them.

C.A. "Dutch" Ruppersberger, D-Md., a member of the House Appropriations subcommittee that helps write NASA’s budget, rented his box from a major NASA contractor. Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., who sits on the Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit subcommittee, rented his from an association of federal credit unions. Rep. John Barrow, D-Ga., who sits on the Energy and Commerce subcommittee that helped draft landmark tobacco-safety legislation last year, got his box from one of the world’s leading cigarette makers.

Others who rented from corporations or trade associations included Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis.; Patrick Murphy, D-Penn.; Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y.; and Adrian Smith, R-Neb.

Skybox meet-ups between lawmakers and lobbyists lost some of their allure in 2004, when the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal attracted public scrutiny. But still they persist. Lawmakers continue to enjoy free and easy access to events that aren’t available to most Americans. And lobbyists and wealthy business leaders are still partying with lawmakers who can directly affect their bottom line. Even after several rounds of campaign finance reform, the events remain legal, including renting boxes from special-interest groups. The only difference is that the corporations and lobbyists don’t provide the boxes for free, as they sometimes did before the Abramoff scandal broke. Instead, they often contribute to the lawmakers’ campaign committees or leadership PACs, which then pay for the cost of the event.

In 2009 alone, at least 108 congressional fundraisers were held at the city’s three premier sports and entertainment venues, according to invitations leaked to the Sunlight Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit devoted to greater transparency in government. The true number is probably higher because most invitations are never made public. Because these events usually are kept private, it’s impossible to determine who rubbed shoulders with the politicians in the skyboxes, how much money was raised or whether some of the tickets might have been used for free by the lawmakers’ friends or families.

ProPublica pieced together information about the Springsteen concerts from campaign finance reports filed by the interest groups and the lawmakers, party invitations archived by the Sunlight Foundation and interviews with the handful of congressional offices and businesses that responded to any of our questions.