Fannie Mae Paid Lobbyist $200,000

The Houston Chronicle reports:

Fannie Mae paid Elmendorf Strategies $200,000 to lobby the federal government last year.

Fannie, the largest buyer and backer of U.S. home loans, paid the firm $100,000 in the second half of 2007, according to a form disclosed Feb. 13 by the Senate's office of public records.

Elmendorf lobbied on a bill that would have created a federal agency with authority over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The proposal would have tightened controls over the mortgage lenders following recent multibillion-dollar accounting scandals at both companies.

The bill passed the House in May but stalled in the Senate after the Bush administration threatened a veto, arguing the new regulator should have more power over Fannie and Freddie's mortgage holdings.

Lobbyists are required to disclose activities that could influence members of the executive and legislative branches, under a federal law enacted in 1995.