More on vote pairing ...
Pairing is announced (which means the paired Senators are "there"), and where there are sufficient Senators present who have announced their pairs and, therefore, withheld their votes, the Presiding Officer has held that a quorum was present for the transaction of business.
So, "pairing" is a way to reduce the number of votes cast and permits Senators to hide which of the pair is on which side of an issue. That's about all it's good for, by my first reckoning on the subject.
It's also useful if a Senator has a pressing engagement such as a meeting with a particularly hot lobbyist who's wishes to use her personal charms to influence a Senator. Since such lobbying can be "bipartisan", Senators will help each other out on this.
But enough about Senator Mikulski.
Thanks for the info. First I've heard of vote pairing.
What happened to Hagel today?