Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Two U.S. senators introduced a measure today to cut any unpaid bonus money to executives of government-backed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and put employees of the mortgage-finance firms onto a federal pay scale.

Senators Mark Begich, an Alaska Democrat, and John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, introduced the measure in the wake of disclosures last year that the Federal Housing Finance Agency approved nearly $13 million in compensation for executives at the two firms. The House Financial Services Committee approved a similar bill in November.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have cost U.S. taxpayers more than $150 billion in aid since 2008, when they were taken into conservatorship as they teetered on the brink of collapse after investing in risky mortgages.

--Editors: Gregory Mott, Anthony Gnoffo

To contact the reporter on this story: Phil Mattingly in Washington at pmattingly@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Maura Reynolds at mreynolds34@bloomberg.net -0- Feb/01/2012 15:48 GMT