Houston-area US Reps. Kevin Brady and John Culberson are hosting a getaway fundraiser for themselves at the posh Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia this weekend. A four-hour drive from Washington (18 hours from Houston), the Homestead resort includes two 18-hole golf courses and claims to combine “Southern hospitality and elegant charm.”

Sounds like a lovely place to shake down lobbyists for donations.

In fairness, this does qualify as a swell family trip for the Swamp Dwellers. And Brady and Culberson aren’t doing anything unique: K Street lobbyists can fill their weekends attending destination trips with federal lawmakers.

It does cost them, however. Or, rather, it costs their clients with business before Congress.

For three days of access to Brady this weekend, you’d need to pay $5,000 from a federally registered political action committee or $2,700 per person. (That doesn’t include a room, by the way.)

A special Saturday night dinner with Culberson starts off at $2,500.

The invitation, sent to Washington lobbyists and forwarded to Texas Scorecard, reminds recipients that Brady and Culberson are committee chairmen.

While Brady has used his post helming the Ways and Means Committee to push through reforms to the IRS and tax code, Culberson has done a lot less with his chairmanship of the subcommittee overseeing the Department of Justice and FBI.

Other members of Congress are loudly demanding the DOJ come clean about their partisan bent during the 2016 presidential election and since. Not Culberson, though, who has been not just silent but absent.

Rest assured he won’t be absent from the Omni Homestead Resort this weekend; he wants to collect a few more checks from those lobbyists who call the swamp their home.

Michael Quinn Sullivan

Michael Quinn Sullivan is the publisher of Texas Scorecard. He is a native Texan, a graduate of Texas A&M, and an Eagle Scout. Previously, he has worked as a newspaper reporter, magazine contributor, Capitol Hill staffer, and think tank vice president. Michael and his wife have three adult children, a son-in-law, and a dog. Michael is the author of three books, including "Reflections on Life and Liberty."

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