Congress' executive pay hearing postponed

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A congressional hearing set to feature three high-profile financial executives has been postponed after the death of a witness's mother.

Countrywide Financial's (CFC, Fortune 500) founder and CEO Angelo Mozilo and former Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) and Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) CEOs Stanley O'Neal and Charles Prince were scheduled to testify Thursday before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Lawmakers are examining the link between executive pay and the mortgage crisis.

The hearing was postponed Tuesday after the death of Mozilo's mother, according to Patricia McCoy, a University of Connecticut law professor who was also on the witness panel. She said the committee was hoping to reschedule the hearing within the next two weeks.

The hearing was originally scheduled for Feb. 7, but was postponed due to scheduling conflicts.

All three executives made headlines last year for their companies' bad bets on the U.S. housing market - and for their own lofty compensation. Their pay is drawing scrutiny from lawmakers at a time when homeowners across the country are at risk of losing their homes and as the country teeters on the brink of recession.

Upon his departure from Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) in November, Prince left with approximately $68 million, while O'Neal collected about $161 million after he stepped down in October. Both Citigroup and Merrill reported billions of dollars in losses on risky investments in mortgage-backed securities.

Countrywide's Mozilo reportedly stood to collect a windfall of $115 million dollars after his firm agreed in January to a yet-to-be completed $4 billion sale to Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500). But after facing heavy criticism from lawmakers, Mozilo said he would forfeit $37.5 million in payments tied to the deal.