It's a fairly routine practice on Capitol Hill, but a proxy vote by South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson has taken on symbolic importance as he recovers from brain surgery. Johnson cast a vote Thursday on an appropriations committee amendment from the rehab facility where he's been a patient.

The proxy vote is a tool members of Congress use when their job demands keep them from attending committee votes in person. But for Tim Johnson... voting by proxy marked another medical milestone in his efforts to return full-time to his senate duties. 

Senator Tim Johnson, undergoing rehabilitation, was concerned that drought relief funding would be in danger without his input on an appropriations bill amendment. Communications Director Julliane Fisher said, "This is the first time that we had gone in and made sure he had a full briefing where we thought things might be closer, there might a danger point for something to be removed from the bill - in particular, drought might be removed from the bill." 

It turns out... the vote wasn't close and drought relief stayed in the bill. But Johnson's proxy vote carried the day in other ways. Fisher said, "It's a new step, a new wrinkle and it shows his continued progress and his continued involvement on things." 

Johnson serves on a half-dozen senate committees... but each of them has restrictions on proxy votes. Fisher said, "Some of the committees have rules that you have the right to vote on an amendment in the committee but not necessarily vote on the overall bill coming out of the committee. They want to make sure the senators are around so you can't just dial it in." 

Fischer says it’s difficult to predict when Johnson will be involved in another proxy vote. But she says if it's an important issue facing South Dakotans... Johnson's voice will be heard in the Senate ... despite his absence.
Here's how a proxy vote works: Johnson tells his staff how to vote. A staff member attends the committee meeting and tells the chairman how Johnson is voting. The committee chairman then registers Johnson's vote on the record.