UPDATE 1-US Congress Dems want GSE proposals in housing bill

(Adds Dodd, Hensarling comments; updates share prices)

By Kevin Drawbaugh

WASHINGTON, July 14 (Reuters) - Congressional backers of a broad housing market rescue bill want to combine it with Bush administration proposals to bolster Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N), but Republican resistance was mounting on Monday amid questions about the cost to taxpayers.

If partisan infighting erupts over the proposals from the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve, efforts in Congress to respond to the widening U.S. housing crisis that have been under way for months could be further delayed.

Even as senior Democrats were predicting swift action, Texas Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling was circulating a letter in the House of Representatives calling for hearings, debate and amendments on the proposals made over the weekend.

Hensarling is chairman of the Republican Study Committee, a faction of 104 of the House's most conservative members who sometimes clash with House Republican leadership.

"We have significant concerns about proposals to provide new, direct federal financial assistance to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac," Hensarling wrote in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Barney Frank, two leading Democrats.

He said the Bush administration proposals raise concerns about government's role in dealing with Fannie and Freddie "and deserve careful consideration before enactment."

In the Senate, an aide said that Republicans were in discussions and studying the administration proposals.