The Senate passed a bipartisan bill late Tuesday that would cap executive pay at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The legislation by Sens. David Vitter, R-La., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., was approved by unanimous consent.
It comes in response to an announcement this summer by Mel Watt, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, raising pay for the chief executives at the government-sponsored enterprises to $4 million each, up from $600,000. The bill would halt Watt's raises and cap executive compensation at the previous level.
The House Financial Services Committee advanced similar legislation nearly unanimously in late July, just before the August recess.
The Senate version of the bill, which includes a provision that the cap will stay in place only as long as the GSEs are in conservatorship, will now advance to the House for consideration.
