(NewsNation) – After U.S. Rep. Kay Granger’s five-month absence from Congress was revealed, some Americans are wondering whether their elected officials are doing their jobs or whether they are missing out on significant votes.
Because the 81-year-old is in a retirement facility Dementia-related problemsOther members of Congress were also chronically absent from Capitol Hill.
NewsNation’s Tom Dempsey reviewed the data from govtrack.usa congressional monitoring website, noting that Granger isn’t even the most absent member of Congress this year.
Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona fell brief by 455 votes, about 88% of the votes cast in the House this year, as he battled cancer. The 76-year-old was re-elected in November and said his upcoming term would be his last.
Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans is the second-most absent member of Congress, missing nearly 63% of the vote after suffering a stroke in May. He also won re-election in November after running unopposed.
In comparison, Granger ranks third on this list, missing 54% of the vote.
Coming in fourth place is Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who missed 149 votes this year, most of them during his failed attempt to take on President Biden in the primary.
On the other side of Congress, Vice President-elect JD Vance missed the most votes in the Senate, most of them after being nominated to replace President-elect Donald Trump.
Outgoing West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin came in second after skipping 90 votes in the Senate this year. He is followed by another outgoing senator, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who missed 73 votes this year, and Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun, who missed 70 votes while successfully running for governor.
Three representatives died while in office, including Democrats Donald Payne Jr., Sheila Jackson Lee and Bill Pascrell.
NewsNation’s Ashley Soriano contributed to this report.
