Enlarge By Susan Walsh, AP Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, is mingling this weekend with campaign contributors at a ski resort near Jackson Hole, Wyo. WASHINGTON  The deepening economic recession hasn't stopped members of Congress from throwing lavish events to raise campaign money for the 2010 election. This weekend, donors to a political action committee run by Rep. Jeb Hensarling are invited to the Snake River Lodge & Spa near Jackson Hole, Wyo., for a ski outing hosted by the Texas Republican. The minimum donation: $2,500, according to the invitation, which touts opportunities to take sleigh rides to an elk refuge and snowmobile excursions to the Continental Divide. Skiing also is on the agenda at a fundraiser this weekend in Vail, Colo., for Democrat Ed Perlmutter. Donations range from $2,400 for an individual to $5,000 for a political action committee. Donors seeking warmer climes could have joined veteran Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii for a "Weekend of Aloha" fundraiser at a resort on Honolulu's Waikiki Beach. Inouye's event, held last weekend, started two days after lawmakers passed President Obama's $787 billion plan aimed at jump-starting the economy. Lawmakers are on a week-long break and return Monday. "Everyone is tightening their belts, but lawmakers are doing what they have always done: holding fundraisers in exotic locales," said Nancy Watzman, who tracks political fundraising events for the watchdog group Sunlight Foundation. "This is the kind of thing that's out of reach to most people, and it's pretty much hidden from the public." Aides to the lawmakers said the events are driven by the need to raise growing amounts of campaign money. House and Senate candidates raised nearly $1.4 billion to fund campaigns in 2008, up from roughly $1 billion eight years earlier, according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics. "Almost every member of Congress is fundraising all the time," said Julie DeWoody, the finance director of Perlmutter's campaign. "It's the reality of running for office and how expensive campaigns are." Perlmutter, a Colorado congressman in his second term, opted to host the ski weekend to give "supporters a different way to interact with him and have fun," DeWoody said. She would not say who planned to attend. Hensarling's fundraising event supports his political action committee — Jobs, Economy and Budget Fund, also known as JEB Fund. Hensarling aide Dee Buchanan said in an e-mail that the money goes to "conservative candidates who believe in limited government and unlimited opportunity." Buchanan did not respond to questions about fundraising goals and who was expected to attend the event. It was scheduled to begin Thursday night and run through the weekend. Inouye, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, raised about $100,000 at last weekend's event at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort & Spa, according to Helen Milby, his fundraiser. It was held in Hawaii so Inouye could raise money and carry out constituent work in his home state, she said. It also "was a great way for people to support tourism in Hawaii," she added. About 20 donors, who each raised or gave $5,000, and their spouses came from Washington. "Some were lobbyists; some were not," Milby said. She said Inouye would "never" allow contributions from special interests to influence his policymaking. "He's a great American, and he does what's right for the country all of the time," she said. "That's his benchmark." Ethics rules approved in 2007 bar members of Congress from accepting most gifts, trips and expensive meals from lobbyists and organizations that employ them, but did not impose restrictions on campaign activity. "The same person who can't buy a meal for a senator can go to the fundraiser, have a nice meal … and give contributions," said Stephen Weissman, of the Campaign Finance Institute. "This is a real problem." The posh venues aren't restricted to fundraising events, either. Earlier this month, House Democrats held their annual retreat at Kingsmill Resort & Spa near Williamsburg, Va. House Republicans headed to The Homestead, a mountain resort and spa in Hot Springs, Va., for their policy retreat. The lawmakers used campaign funds to pay their expenses. But the non-profit Congressional Institute helped underwrite staff travel and overhead expenses for the Republican gathering, said Matt Lloyd, a spokesman for the House Republican Conference. He confirmed that participants included lobbyists who help fund the institute, which hosts seminars for lawmakers and conducts public policy research. The getaway was approved by the House Ethics Committee, he said. 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