House members, not surprisingly, had much higher overall voting participation rates in joint appropriations committees than did senators. The average for House members was 87 percent, compared to 71 percent for senators.

Party numbers

Of note, Democrats had slightly higher overall voting participation rates than did Republicans. The typical Democrat had a 93.8 percent rate on the floor, compared to 90.3 percent for Republicans. In committee, the rate for Democrats was 82.5 percent compared to 75.6 percent for Republicans.

This is in part because Democrats, having such small numbers, are not needed (or sometimes wanted) in private meetings to settle sticky issues, and have more free time to vote on the floor and in committees.

"Because of our fewer numbers (20 House Democrats to 55 House Republicans), our members take committee votes very seriously," said House Minority Leader Brad King, D-Price. "We love it when we get to a committee and see a number of the Republicans' chairs empty. If two or three of them don't show up, we can actually (control the committee vote and) make some decisions — we know this and take those opportunities when we can."

The House also had a higher voting participation rate than did the Senate. The typical House member had a 91.6 percent rate on the floor, compared to 90.4 percent for senators. In committee, the rate for the House was 79.2 percent, compared to 74 percent by senators.

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