WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a ban on insider trading among members of Congress and administration officials on Thursday, sending a version of the bill introduced by Minnesota Democrat Tim Walz to President Barack Obama for his signature into law.

The Senate approved a House-passed version of the STOCK Act, one that removed regulations on the “political intelligence” industry that the bill’s original sponsors had supported. Senators had added a political intelligence provision to their bill, but the House removed it when it passed the legislation in February. Walz supported the provision, but has said he's content to see the bill become law in this form.

Lawmakers have introduced versions of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act several times over the past few years, but it never garnered more than a handful of co-sponsors. A November “60 Minutes” report on the trading habits of lawmakers moved the bill to the top of government accountability advocates’ agendas, and members of Congress and President Obama quickly called for its passage.

Most members have said the restrictions are largely unnecessary and insist their trading habits are all above-board. But given Congress's record-low approval ratings, backers, including Walz, said a measure like this would indicate to the American people that representatives are in Washington to protect constituents’ interests, not their own.

Obama announced his support for the bill in his January State of the Union address. With the Senate’s passage, on a 96-3 to vote, Obama will now have the opportunity to sign it into law.

Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry