President Clinton's budget proposes that for the first time Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pay the Department of Housing and Urban Development for overseeing the them.
The money-up to $10 million a year-would go to HUD's Office of Government Sponsored Enterprises Oversight.
The budget also proposes raising the Ginnie Mae guarantee level-the amount of loans the agency can guarantee-to $200 billion for 2000, a $50 billion hike in anticipation of increased business.
"They're raising an issue that has been raised and voted against in the past," a spokeswoman for Freddie Mac said. A spokeswoman for Fannie added that the agency is willing to work with congressional committees on the "appropriate cost" for Fannie's regulation.
Fannie and Freddie paid $16 million last year to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, their regulator for financial safety and soundness, a spokeswoman for that office said.