In what’s almost certain to become fodder for a future Congressional hearing, lawmakers are ramping up their scrutiny of executive pay. Not surprisingly, the compensation and bonus plans of the firms that are getting taxpayer-funded cash infusions as part of the Treasury’s rescue plan are coming under the microscope.

Amid press reports that some of those firms are still planning to pay hefty bonuses, House Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman sent a letter this week to nine banks requesting information on their 2008 compensation and bonus plans.

The banks—Citigroup, Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Merrill Lynch Morgan Stanley, State Street Corp., and Wells Fargo—will receive $125 billion of taxpayer funds under a Treasury plan to rebuild depleted capital, according to Waxman.

The Oct. 28 letter noted that the nine banks have spent or reserved $108 billion for employee compensation and bonuses in the first nine months of 2008, nearly the same amount as last year.

“While I understand the need to pay the salaries of employees, I question the appropriateness of depleting the capital that taxpayers just injected into the banks through the payment of billions of dollars in bonuses, especially after one of the financial industry's worst years on record,” Waxman wrote.

Waxman has requested the firms provide information to the committee by Nov. 10 that includes, for each year from 2006 to 2008:

1. The total compensation and average compensation per employee, paid or projected to be paid to all personnel, broken down by salaries, bonuses (cash and equity), and benefits; and a description of the reasons for the year-to-year changes in these amounts;2. The number of employees who were paid, or are projected to be paid, more than $500,000 in total compensation; the total compensation paid or projected to be paid to these employees, broken down by salaries, bonuses (cash and equity), and benefits; and a description of the reasons for the year-to-year changes in these amounts;3. The total compensation paid or projected to be paid to the ten highest-paid employees, broken down by salaries, bonuses (cash and equity), and benefits; and a description of the reasons for the year-to-year changes in these amounts;4. Documents sufficient to show all policies governing the granting of the bonuses to the groups of employees referenced above.

The letter also calls for the firms to update the committee with additional information on any 2008 year-end bonuses that haven’t been finalized when those payments are determined.