This Times article discusses fundraising, lobbyist strategy, and Rep. Pelosi’s position on healthcare reform.

A spokesman for Ms. Pelosi said her role as House Democrats’ chief fund-raiser had no effect on her work as speaker. The House bill shows that “the speaker has put consumers first and taken a tough position against the insurance and drug industries,” said the spokesman, Nadeam Elshami.

But industry lobbyists, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of alienating Ms. Pelosi, say they have stepped up their fund-raising for her all year with an eye to her pivotal role in the health care endgame, hoping to stay in her good graces and glean insights into her thinking.

The article reports that a lobbyist accompanied Rep. Pelosi on a commercial flight for a fundraising trip.

Accompanying her on the US Airways flight to her first stop, Cleveland on Oct. 2, was a prominent health care lobbyist, Frederick H. Graefe, who represents hospitals, medical equipment companies, a few drug companies and others in the industry.