On Tuesday, Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) will each attend a fundraiser hosted by lobbyists for pharmaceutical giant Amgen, a company that came under scrutiny recently for a provision in the fiscal cliff bill that could lead to a $500 million taxpayer-funded windfall.

And as the country barrels toward the March 1st sequester deadline with negotiations for a replacement moving slowly, more than three-dozen members of Congress will join Barrasso and Alexander in spending their time raising campaign cash rather than hashing out a deal to avoid the job-killing sequester.

At least 40 U.S. House members and Senators will host or attend fundraisers this week, according to news reports and invitations obtained by the Sunlight Foundation. All but three are in Washington, D.C. It’s a bipartisan mix of lobby shop receptions, steakhouse dinners, and Capitol Hill Club lunches.

Here are just a few examples:

• On Monday, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) was scheduled to attend a fundraiser at the offices of Microsoft, a company that has lobbied on tax reform issues. Two of the Microsoft lobbyists hosting the event work for Monument Policy Group, where they also represent defense contractors like Boeing and General Dynamics.
• Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gilibrand (D-N.Y.) will be the guests of Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, a financial services company that spent 2012 lobbying on the implementation of Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.
• On Wednesday, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) will be the “special guest” at a fundraiser for Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) at the Capitol Hill Club.
• Freshman Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) will hold a “Chick-Fil-A Breakfast.” We’re not sure if this means Chick-Fil-A is sponsoring or if there will be lots of chicken biscuits—or both.
• Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) will be feted at the offices of lobbying giant Patton Boggs, a firm that represents General Electric, Goldman Sachs, and other big corporate clients.
• It’s almost baseball season, so Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) will take her leadership PAC supporters down to Florida for “Spring Training Weekend” on Friday.

There are probably events missing from this list that haven’t been made public. And it doesn’t include the hours of “call time” members do every day to raise money. So while this list doesn’t provide the full picture of Congressional fundraising, it does highlight the competing priorities and conflicts of interest inherent in the system. Members of Congress have to face their constituents back home, sure, but they often have to face the lobbyists working for clients who have a stake in the hearings they held that day or votes they made—and ask them for money.

It’s another reason Congress should pass legislation like the Fair Elections Now Act that would encourage candidates to run for office by relying on a mix of small donations and matching public funds. They’d be free to focus on their constituents and their jobs as legislators.