SUMMARY
An American Bridge analysis of U.S. House committee transcripts and voting records from hearings during Mike Pence’s tenure showed a consistent record of absenteeism. Since he arrived in Washington in 2001, Pence never attended more than 50 percent of hearings for which his status could be determined in a single congressional term. During his congressional career, Pence missed at least 63 percent of hearings.
Note: Pence’s attendance figures during his membership on the Committee on Agriculture and the Select Committee on the Voting Irregularities of August 2, 2007, were not included in this analysis because his attendance could not be determined for more than 80 percent of their hearings.
Pence Missed At Least 63 Percent Of Committee Hearings During His Tenure In Congress. According to an American Bridge analysis of congressional committee transcripts and voting records, former Rep. Mike Pence missed 63 percent of hearings of the his assigned committees – Foreign Affairs, International Relations, Judiciary, and Small Business. Pence was either labeled absent or his name did not appear in the committee and subcommittees’ transcripts or voting records of 655 of 1,034 hearings for which attendance status was known. Pence missed 71 percent of hearings where there was attendance information available. Note This: analysis did not include the Committee on Agriculture or the Select Committee on the Voting Irregularities of August 2, 2007, as attendance data were not available for a majority of their hearings. [American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
Pence Missed At Least 66 Percent Of Foreign Affairs Committee Hearings. According to an American Bridge analysis of congressional committee transcripts and voting records, former Rep. Mike Pence missed 66 percent of Committee on Foreign Affairs hearings. Pence was either labeled absent or his name did not appear in the committee and subcommittees’ transcripts or voting records of 159 of 241 hearings for which attendance status was known. Pence missed 69 percent of hearings where there was attendance information available. [American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
Pence Missed All Hearings Of The Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East And South Asia Subcommittee While He Was The Subcommittee’s Vice Chairman. According to an American Bridge analysis of congressional committee transcripts and voting records, former Rep. Mike Pence missed 100 percent of Committee on Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia hearings for which his status was known during the 112th Congress, when he was the subcommittee’s vice chairman in the 110th through 112th Congresses. Pence was either labeled absent or his name did not appear in the committee’s transcripts or voting records of 21 of the 21 hearings. [American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
Pence Missed At Least 85 Percent Of International Relations Committee Hearings. According to an American Bridge analysis of congressional committee transcripts and voting records, former Rep. Mike Pence missed 85 percent of Committee on International Relations hearings. Pence was either labeled absent or his name did not appear in the committee and subcommittees’ transcripts or voting records of 172 of 202 hearings for which attendance status was known. Pence missed 86 percent of hearings where there was attendance information available. [American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
Pence Missed At Least 54 Percent Of Judiciary Committee Hearings. According to an American Bridge analysis of congressional committee transcripts and voting records, former Rep. Mike Pence missed 54 percent of Committee on the Judiciary hearings. Pence was either labeled absent or his name did not appear in the committee and subcommittees’ transcripts or voting records of 280 of 521 hearings for which attendance status was known. Pence missed 67 percent of hearings where there was attendance information available. [American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
Pence Missed At Least 63 Percent Of Small Business Committee Hearings. According to an American Bridge analysis of congressional committee transcripts and voting records, former Rep. Mike Pence missed 63 percent of Committee on Small Business hearings. Pence was either labeled absent or his name did not appear in the committee and subcommittees’ transcripts or voting records of 44 of 70 hearings for which attendance status was known. Pence missed 71 percent of hearings where there was attendance information available. [American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
| Committee | Subcommittee | Hearing Title | Date |
| Small Business | n/a | 90 Days After September 11th: How Are Small Businesses Being Helped? | 12/6/2001 |
| Judiciary | Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security | Progress in Consolidating Terrorist Watchlists— the Terrorist Screening Center (Tsc) | 3/25/2004 |
| Judiciary | Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security | Terrorist Penalties Enhancement Act of 2003 | 4/21/2004 |
| Judiciary | Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security | Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission | 8/23/2004 |
| Judiciary | n/a | Ensuring Legal Redress For American Victims of State-Sponsored Terrorism | 6/17/2008 |
| International Relations | International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights | Overview of International Terrorist Organizations | 3/26/2003 |
| International Relations | International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights | The Challenge of Terrorism in Asia and the Pacific | 10/29/2003 |
| International Relations | Middle East and Central Asia | Central Asia: Terrorism, Religious Extremism, and Regional Stability | 10/29/2003 |
| International Relations | International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights | Preventing the Entry of Terrorists Into the United States | 2/13/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | U.S. Foreign Assistance After September 11th: Major Changes, Competing Purposes and Different Standards—Is There an Overall Strategy? | 2/26/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | Weapons of Mass Destruction, Terrorism, Human Rights and the Future of U.S.-Libyan Relations | 3/10/2004 |
| International Relations | Middle East and Central Asia | Saudi Arabia and the Fight Against Terrorism Financing | 3/24/2004 |
| International Relations | International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights | The Visa Waiver Program and the Screening of Potential Terrorists | 6/16/2004 |
| International Relations | International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights | 9/11 Commission Report Recommendation: Denying Sanctuaries to Terrorists | 8/6/2004 |
| International Relations | International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights | U.S.-European Cooperation on Counterterrorism: Achievements and Challenges | 9/14/2004 |
| International Relations | Middle East and Central Asia | 9/11 Recommendations Implementation Act Oversight, Part I -- Oppressors Vs. Reformers in the Middle East and Central Asia | 5/4/2005 |
| International Relations | Oversight and Investigations | Offshore Banking, Corruption, and the War on Terrorism | 3/29/2006 |
| International Relations | Oversight and Investigations | Visa Overstays: Can We Bar the Terrorist Door? | 5/11/2006 |
| International Relations | No | Afghanistan: Five Years After 9/11 | 9/20/2006 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Defeating Al-Qaeda’s Air Force: Pakistan’s F-16 Program in the Fight Against Terrorism | 9/16/2008 |
| Judiciary | n/a | Terrorist Threat Integration Center and Its Relationship With the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security | 7/22/2003 |
| International Relations | n/a | Stolen Passports: a Terrorist’s First Class Ticket | 6/23/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | 9-11 Commission Recommendations For U.S. Diplomacy | 8/24/2004 |
| Judiciary | Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security | Terrorist Death Penalty Enhancement Act of 2005, and the Streamlined Procedures Act of 2005 | 6/30/2005 |
| Judiciary | Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties | U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Response to Air Quality Issues Arising From the Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001: Were There Substantive Due Process Violations? | 6/25/2007 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Emerging Threats and Security in the Western Hemisphere: Next Steps For U.S. Policy | 10/13/2011 |
[American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
| Committee | Subcommittee | Hearing Title | Date |
| International Relations | n/a | United States Policy in Afghanistan: Current Issues in Reconstruction - Part I | 6/19/2003 |
| International Relations | International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights | Afghanistan: Democratization and Human Rights on the Eve of the Constitutional Loya Jirga | 11/19/2003 |
| International Relations | n/a | Afghanistan: United States Strategies on the Eve of National Elections | 9/29/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | U.S. Counternarcotics Policy in Afghanistan: Time For Leadership | 3/17/2005 |
| International Relations | n/a | United States Policy in Afghanistan: Establishing Democratic Governance and Security in the Wake of Parliamentary Elections | 9/22/2005 |
| International Relations | Joint: Middle East and South Asia-Oversight and Investigations | Afghanistan: Progress Report | 3/9/2006 |
| International Relations | Oversight and Investigations | Afghanistan: Is the Aid Getting Through? | 3/9/2006 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Afghanistan on the Brink: Where Do We Go From Here? | 2/15/2007 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Afghanistan Policy At the Crossroads | 10/15/2009 |
| International Relations | n/a | United States Policy in Afghanistan: Current Issues in Reconstruction - Part Ii | 10/16/2003 |
| International Relations | n/a | Afghanistan: Drugs and Terrorism and U.S. Security Policy | 2/12/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | United States Security Policy in Afghanistan on the Eve of National Elections | 9/23/2004 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | U.S. Strategy in Afghanistan, Part Ii | 12/10/2009 |
[American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
| Committee | Subcommittee | Hearing Title | Date |
| Judiciary | Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property | Intellectual Property Theft in China and Russia | 5/17/2005 |
| Judiciary | Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property | International Ipr Report Card—Assessing U.S. Government and Industry Efforts to Enhance Chinese and Russian Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights | 12/7/2005 |
| International Relations | n/a | U.S.-China Ties: Reassessing the Economic Relationship | 10/21/2003 |
| International Relations | n/a | Should China Join the Nuclear Suppliers Group? | 5/18/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | Joint Hearing With The Committee on Armed Services: The National Security and Foreign Policy Implications For the United States of Arms Exports to the People’s Republic of China By Member States of the European Union | 4/14/2005 |
| International Relations | Oversight and Investigations | Falun Gong and China’s Continuing War on Human Rights | 6/21/2005 |
| International Relations | Oversight and Investigations | Falun Gong: Organ Harvesting and China'S Ongoing War on Human Rights | 9/29/2006 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Congressional–Executive Commission on China: 2011 Annual Report | 11/3/2011 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Investigating the Chinese Threat, Part Ii: Human Rights Abuses, Torture and Disappearances | 7/25/2012 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Beijing As an Emerging Power in the South China Sea | 9/12/2012 |
| International Relations | n/a | China: Human Rights Violations and Coercion in One Child Policy Enforcement | 12/14/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | A Resurgent China: Responsible Stakeholder Or Robust Rival? | 5/10/2006 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | The Future of Political, Economic, and Security Relations With China | 5/1/2007 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | China on the Eve of the Olympics | 7/23/2008 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Assessing China’s Behavior and Its Impact on U.S. Interests | 1/19/2011 |
[American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
| Committee | Subcommittee | Hearing Title | Date |
| International Relations | Middle East and Central Asia | Enforcement of the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act and Increasing Security Threats From Iran (Part I) | 6/25/2003 |
| International Relations | Middle East and Central Asia | Iranian Proliferation: Implications For Terrorists, Their State-Sponsors and U.S. Counter-Proliferation Policy | 6/24/2004 |
| International Relations | Middle East and Central Asia | Iran: A Quarter-Century of State-Sponsored Terror | 2/16/2005 |
| International Relations | n/a | United States Policy Toward Iran: Next Steps | 2/16/2005 |
| International Relations | Middle East and Central Asia | Holding the Current Regime in Iran Accountable For Its Threatening Behavior and Supporting a Transition to Democracy in Iran | 4/13/2005 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Iranian Nuclear Crisis: Latest Developments and Next Steps | 3/15/2007 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | U.S. Policy Toward Iran | 3/21/2007 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Nuclear Cooperation and Non–Proliferation After Khan and Iran: Are We Asking Enough of Current and Future Agreements? | 9/24/2010 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Iran and Syria: Next Steps | 6/23/2011 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Axis of Abuse: U.S. Human Rights Policy Toward Iran and Syria, Part 1 | 7/27/2011 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Ahmadinejad’s Tour of Tyrants and Iran’s Agenda in the Western Hemisphere | 2/2/2012 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Iran Sanctions: Strategy, Implementation, and Enforcement | 5/17/2012 |
| International Relations | n/a | United States Policy Toward Iran - Next Steps | 3/8/2006 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Implementing Tougher Sanctions on Iran: A Progress Report | 12/1/2010 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Iran and Syria: Next Steps, Part II | 10/14/2011 |
[American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
| Committee | Subcommittee | Hearing Title | Date |
| International Relations | n/a | United States Policy Toward Iraq | 5/15/2003 |
| International Relations | n/a | U.S. Policy Toward Iraq | 9/25/2003 |
| International Relations | Middle East and Central Asia | United States and the Iraqi Marshlands: an Environmental Response | 2/24/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | The Imminent Transfer of Sovereignty in Iraq | 5/13/2004 |
| International Relations | Oversight and Investigations | The Iraqi Documents: a Glimpse Into the Regime of Saddam Hussein | 4/6/2006 |
| International Relations | n/a | Iraq: Update on U.S. Policy | 4/26/2006 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Proposed Legislation on Iraq | 3/20/2007 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Neglected Responsibilities: The U.S. Response to the Iraqi Refugee Crisis | 3/11/2008 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | No Direction Home: an Ngo Perspective on Iraqi Refugees and Idps | 5/1/2008 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Outlook For Iraq and U.S. Policy | 9/10/2009 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | The Transition to a Civilian–Led U.S. Presence in Iraq: Issues and Challenges | 11/18/2010 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Preserving Progress: Transitioning Authority and Implementing the Strategic Framework in Iraq, Part 2 | 6/23/2011 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Preserving Progress in Iraq, Part Iii: Iraq’s Police Development Program | 11/30/2011 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Camp Ashraf: Iraqi Obligations and State Department Accountability | 12/7/2011 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Halting the Descent: U.S. Policy Toward a Deteriorating Situation in Iraq | 3/21/2012 |
| International Relations | n/a | Review of Iraq Reconstruction | 6/8/2006 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Assessment of the Administration’s September Report on the Status of U.S. Political and Military Efforts in Iraq | 9/19/2007 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | U.S. Declaration of Principles For a Long-Term Relationship With Iraq | 3/4/2008 |
| Foreign Affairs | Middle East and South Asia | Preserving Progress: Transitioning Authority and Implementing the Strategic Framework in Iraq, Part 1 | 6/1/2011 |
[American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
| Committee | Subcommittee | Hearing Title | Date |
| Judiciary | Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security | Weak Bilateral Law Enforcement Presence At the U.S.-Mexico Border: Territorial Integrity and Safety Issues For American Citizens | 11/17/2005 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | The Merida Initiative: Assessing Plans to Step Up Our Security Cooperation With Mexico and Central America | 11/14/2007 |
| Judiciary | Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security | Outgunned and Outmanned: Local Law Enforcement Confronts Violence Along the Southern Border | 3/2/2006 |
[American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]
| Committee | Subcommittee | Hearing Title | Date |
| International Relations | International Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Human Rights | North Korea: Human Rights, Refugees, and Humanitarian Challenges | 4/28/2004 |
| International Relations | n/a | The Korean Peninsula: Six Party Talks and the Nuclear Issue | 3/10/2005 |
| International Relations | n/a | The Six-Party Talks and the North Korean Nuclear Issue: Old Wine in New Bottles? | 10/6/2005 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | North Korea | 1/18/2007 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | North Korea’s Sea of Fire: Bullying, Brinkmanship and Blackmail | 3/10/2011 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | Religious Freedom, Democracy, Human Rights in Asia: Status of Implementation of the Tibetan Policy Act, Block Burmese Jade Act, and North Korean Human Rights Act | 6/2/2011 |
| International Relations | n/a | United States – Republic of Korea Relations: an Alliance At Risk? | 9/27/2006 |
| International Relations | n/a | North Korea’s Nuclear Test: Next Steps | 11/15/2006 |
| Foreign Affairs | n/a | North Korea After Kim Jong-Il: Still Dangerous and Erratic | 4/18/2012 |
[American Bridge Analysis of Committee Transcripts, 7/25/16]