Washington — Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and a handful of colleagues walked impeachment papers from the House of Representatives to the Senate on Wednesday, part of a process that could lead to the removal of a federal judge in Texas.

The judge, Samuel B. Kent, is serving a prison sentence after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.

"However, he is still collecting nearly $477 a day, $174,000 a year, while sitting in prison," Sensenbrenner said in a statement. "This waste of taxpayer dollars is outrageous as it stands, but during these tough economic times, it is outright unacceptable."

The House voted to impeach Kent. Now he must be tried in the Senate, which on Wednesday took the first procedural steps toward putting Kent on trial.

Sensenbrenner has the distinction of serving for the third time as a House impeachment manager for a Senate trial.

The other cases involved President Bill Clinton and U.S. District Judge Walter Nixon.

Since 1803, only one other House member has been manager for three impeachment trials, a Texas lawmaker who served in the first half of the 20th century.