McConnell: Gov't should have some say in executive pay

The government "ought to have some say" in matters involving executive compensation at firms that received federal rescue dollars, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said on Wednesday.

However, McConnell would not specify whether he supports the new limits on bonuses that Treasury Department officials intend to issue perhaps as soon as this week.

"I think if the federal government is a partner, in effect, in these companies, then it ought to have some say in the compensation," he told CNBC, adding that he was not familiar with the White House's plan.

"What I worry about here on Capitol Hill [is that] the majority... [is] going to try to set compensation for all executives and all corporations, regardless of size, and regardless of whether the government is a partner," he added.

Executive pay has appeared on lawmakers' radars since news first broke that a number of companies that received federal rescue funds had also paid some of their employees sizable retention bonuses, among other forms of compensation. Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers have since excoriated CEOs for those compensation checks, but they ultimately declined to pursue any tough rules capping those bonuses -- partially because lawmakers were unsure how, exactly, to do it within confines of current law.

But the Treasury Department is reportedly ready to introduce rules that would cap executive pay at companies that received considerable federal aid. The new order, to be issued in the next few days, would require seven companies in particular -- Citigroup, Bank of America, AIG, General Motors, Chrystler and those two car makers' financial wings -- to cut compensation to their top-25 highest-paid employees by 90 percent, according to The New York Times.