The U.S. House of Representatives has overwhelmingly approved a bill banning lawmakers and other government officials from insider trading.
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, or STOCK Act, passed Thursday on a vote of 417-to-2.
The House bill needs to be reconciled with the Senate’s version of the legislation, which includes new regulation on insiders who obtain financial information from members of Congress and sell it to investment firms. The Senate measure calls for the political intelligence firms to register the same way lobbyists do.
Eager to combat record-low public approval ratings, legislators have rallied behind strict rules on their stock trades. Members of Congress have access to vast information unknown to the public — information that can impact financial markets.