The U.S. House of Representatives is taking up a bill that would ban insider stock trading by lawmakers and thousands of executive branch officials.
    
The news comes after the Senate overwhelmingly passed the measure 96-3.

"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," he said.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor agreed.

"Insider trading at any level of the federal government is unacceptable," he said.

"We will quickly review the entire bill and the amendments that were added ... to ensure that public servants, whether in the legislative or executive branch, do not personally profit from insider information.
         
Insider trading by members of Congress became an issue when conservative author Peter Schweizer wrote about the matter in his book, Throw Them All Out.

President Obama says he will sign the bill immediately.