As Congress examines the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Sen. Jack Reed has requested a review of the severance pay coming to the chief executive officers of the two mortgage giants.

Reed and Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, a fellow Democrat on the Senate banking committee, today released a letter to the chief regulator of Fannie and Freddie in which they suggest a review of the severance package, as permitted under the terms of recent legislation.

Reed and Schumer say they consider it to be ``way out of line'' for the CEOs to be ``rewarded with millions of dollars'' while the taxpayers face the potentially huge burden of a government takeover the housing finance companies.