The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would ban insider trading by lawmakers and those in the White House (as requested by President Barack Obama), and now it'll go to the House of Representatives, which is reportedly "wasting no time" in addressing it. After a bit of initial resistance in both chambers of Congress, it looks like Republicans and Democrats have come around to the notion that they can't be seen opposing a bill that encourages financial transparency among their ranks. In his State of the Union Address, Obama told Congress, "Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow." He's repeated that pledge to lawmakers, The Washington Post reports, and they've taken it to heart on both sides of the aisle, passing the Senate bill 96-3. The bill forces members of Congress to report stock trades within 30 days, and as the Associated Press reported via The Washington Post, nobody wants to be seen standing in its way.

“With approval ratings of Congress at an all-time low, this bill represents an opportunity to build some trust with the American people,” said Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., a chief sponsor of the bill. “The truth is, members of Congress have access to all kinds of sensitive information, and it has to be clear that the information is being used to serve our country, not to make a personal profit.”

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Adam Martin