A $5,000-per-ticket “national innovation conference,” hosted by the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and attended by senators including New Mexico’s Jeff Bingaman, is being criticized by a consumer watchdog group that says it gives the appearance of “pay to play.”

“Senators should discuss public policy issues in open forums accessible to anyone who is interested. The public must not be locked out of a policy discussion that is taking place behind closed doors of a donor-funded forum because average Americans cannot afford the price of admission,” said a letter (pdf) Consumer Watchdog sent  to the senators.

Bingaman’s spokeswoman, Jude McCartin, told the Independent in an e-mail that the senator will attend the event, adding that no policy will be made at the event.

The group is encouraging the six senators, (Bingaman, Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., Tom Carper, D-Del., Mark Warner, D-Va., Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., and Mark Begich, D-Alaska) to skip the event. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Feinstein will not attend; she is the only one of the six senators who is up for reelection in 2010.

“Each of you would complain bitterly if the GOP held a fundraiser called the ‘National Conference on the Future of Energy’ at Exxon headquarters in Houston, aimed at donors across the oil patch,” the letter says.

According to the Chronicle, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee is planning a similar “technology summit,” also at $5,000 per ticket, to be held in Washington Washington next week. The summit will featuring GOP senators and representatives from Google and Facebook.