STOCK Act Most Likely to Pass

On Tuesday, the House Financial Services Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, also known as the STOCK Act. The bill, which has languished since first being introduced in 2006, now has over 150 sponsors and the Senate held it’s first-ever hearing on related legislation last week.

"We've had a lot of new converts now that the public knows what's going on," quips Peter Schweizer, author of Throw Them All Out, a book which, along with a subsequent 60 Minutes profile, helped spotlight the nation's awareness on the trading activities of sitting members of Congress.

"To me it's a little encouraging," Schweizer says of Congress' sudden interest in the STOCK Act. "It shows if the American people are irate about something...there is an opportunity to effect change in a positive way that's not partisan one way or the other."

While encouraged by support for the STOCK Act, which he believes will pass; Schweizer says other reforms are needed, such as mandating sitting members of Congress use blind trusts for their portfolios.