A House Republican has introduced a bill designed to stop Attorney General Eric Holder from being paid his government salary.
The Washington Post reported on the bill, introduced earlier in April by Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX). It would require the federal government to withhold the pay of any federal official who is found in contempt of Congress by the House or the Senate until that status is rescinded.
As it stands now, the Post noted, only one currently serving federal official is considered in contempt of Congress: Holder. The House voted in June 2012 to find Holder in contempt for refusing to comply with the House investigation into the Fast and Furious scandal.
In his statement introducing the bill, Farenthold made clear that he was targeting Holder’s paycheck.
“In 2012, the House of Representatives voted to hold Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt of Congress for refusing to turn over documents related to the botched Fast and Furious gun-running sting operation — despite this fact, he is still receiving his paycheck courtesy of American taxpayers,” he said.
“The American people should not be footing the bill for federal employees who stonewall Congress or rewarding government officials’ bad behavior,” Farenthold continued. “If the average American failed to do his or her job, he or she would hardly be rewarded. High-ranking government officials should be treated no differently than everyone else.”
