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April 8, 2014: Attorney General Eric Holder testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

A Republican lawmaker has introduced legislation that would cut off pay to Attorney General Eric Holder and other federal officials who have been held in contempt of Congress.

Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, introduced the"Contempt Act" on Tuesday, less than a week after alluding to the measure during a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing where Holder faced criticism from GOP lawmakers.

"The American people should not be footing the bill for federal employees who stonewall Congress or rewarding government officials bad behavior," Farenthold said in a statement. "If the average American failed to do his or her job, he or she would hardly be rewarded."

Under the proposal, the contempt resolution would have to be adopted by either the House or Senate for the official to lose their pay. The GOP-led House voted in 2012 to hold Holder in contempt for failing to provide key information on Operation Fast and Furious.

The House Oversight Committee voted last week to hold former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions at a pair of hearings about the agency's political targeting scandal.

Farenthold's bill would not apply to Lerner, who retired last fall.

"While Ms. Lerner has since retired from the IRS, my bill will at least prevent current and future federal employees, like [Holder], from continuing to collect their taxpayer-paid salaries while held in contempt of Congress," Farenthold said.

The contempt measure against Lerner heads next to the House floor. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, predicted last week that unless Lerner agrees to cooperate with the targeting scandal probe, the full House will support contempt.

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GOP legislation would cut off Holder's salary

"Yeah, I certainly have said in my four, five, whatever number confirmation hearings I've had that you fill out the forms, that I had 'youthful experimentation' - I think was the phrase that we were told to use - when I was in college."

Mr Holder joins a growing list of senior American officials who have admitted to drug use in their past, including President Barack Obama, who has said he smoked marijuana at high school.

Around half of the prisoners in US jails are incarcerated for drug offences, with arrests for marijuana possession surpassing those for all violent crimes combined.

A study by the the Federal Bureau of Investigation has found that an American is arrested for a marijuana-related offence every 42 seconds on average.

Mr Holder said: "Well, I'll tell you, as a former judge, I had to put in jail substantial numbers of young people for possessory drug offences, and it was not from the perspective I had as a judge necessarily a good use of law enforcement resources.

"When I became US attorney we put in place certain guidelines so that people would not end up, especially young people, with criminal records and all that then implies for them."

Mr Holder added that while he felt positive about the way legalisation was proceeding in Colorado and Washington, it was unclear if the rest of the US would follow suit.

"I think it's hard to tell," he said. "I think there might have been a burst of feeling that what happened in Washington and Colorado was going to be soon replicated across the country.

"I'm not sure that is necessarily the case. I think a lot of states are going to be looking to see what happens in Washington, what happens in Colorado before those decisions are made in substantial parts of the country.

"The federal government is not going to be involved in the prosecution of small-time, possessory drug cases, but we never were."

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US Attorney General Eric Holder admits using marijuana

Politics justice Attorney General Eric Holder speaks at a press conference on April 1, 2014 in New York. Andrew BurtonGetty Images

Attorney General Eric Holder called on Congress Tuesday to approve $15 million of special funds to help train law enforcement for mass shooting situations.

Holders request comes in the wake of recent shootings at Fort Hood in Texas and a Jewish Community Center in Kansas amid a growing sense that mass shootings are on the rise in the United States. Three people were killed in each shooting. Holder said active shooter incidents have tripled in frequency since 2009.

Today, I am urging Congress to approve President Obamas request for $15 million for active shooter training and other officer safety initiatives, Holder said in a recorded statement. This critical funding would help the Justice Department ensure that Americas police officers have the tools and guidance they need to effectively respond to active shooter incidents whenever and wherever they arise.

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Holder Seeks $15 Million to Train Cops for Mass Shootings