US Senate adopts insider trading ban Amid deep election-year anger at politicians and Wall Street, the US Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly approved a bill aimed at explicitly banning insider trading by lawmakers. The measure sailed through the usually polarized chamber by a lopsided 96-3 margin, despite criticisms that existing securities fraud legislation already applied to congress and a mild feud over applying it to the executive branch. The bill, which had President Barack Obama's strong support, bars lawmakers, who often get private briefings from top corporate executives, as well as families and staff to enrich themselves by trading on non-public information. It would also require lawmakers and their aides to report transactions in stocks, bonds, or commodities and other investments within 30 days. Obama pushed lawmakers in his State of the Union speech last week to "send me a bill that bans insider trading by members of Congress; I will sign it tomorrow," tying it to "the corrosive influence of money in politics." The measure comes amid deep US public anger at the sour economy and the US Congress, which recent polls have found sits at an abysmal nine percent job approval rating, ahead of the November 6 elections. The legislation must still clear the House of Representatives, followed by a House-Senate "conference" to agree on a compromise bill that would need to be adopted again before it can go to Obama for his signature. The conference will also have to rule on how many employees in the executive branch, which generally has tighter rules regarding disclosure of financial interests, will be covered by the bill. Senators adopted a range of amendments to the legislation, including one by Republican Senator John McCain and Democratic Senator Jay Rockefeller forbidding lavish bonuses at government-controlled mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac and sister institution Fannie Mae. That move came after media reports that the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has overseen both Freddie and Fannie since 2008 to prevent their collapse amid the global financial crisis, approved $12.8 million in bonuses to top executives at both institutions.