No More Executive Bonuses at Fannie & Freddie

By Sari R. Updated on 9/25/2013

The United States Senate has agreed to a resolution that would put an end to executive bonuses at Government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  This resolution has also been tied to a larger congressional insider-trading bill.

Senators John McCain Republican of Arizona and Jay Rockefeller, Democrat of West Virginia passed on a voice vote for inclusion in the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act. Senators later passed the Stock Act later with a 96-3 vote. The McCain-Rockefeller amendment eliminates bonus pay as long as the government-sponsored enterprises remain in conservatorship.

There is already a seething mood in the nation's capitol about the huge bonuses of executives at Fannie and Freddie. This resolution adds to that mood in Washington. The two aforementioned senators introduced a different bill earlier in the week that would put Fannie and Freddie employees on a federal maximum salary limit of $275,000 annually, while removing bonuses.

The top 10 executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac earned a total of $13 million in bonuses in 2010, this according to SEC filings. Senators have added language in the Stock Act that would require disclosures of home loans by federal legislators, the president, the vice president and any Senate-approved appointees by the president. This comes as a House investi