Prior to the release of Breitbart editor Peter Schweizer’s blockbuster book, Throw Them All Out, legislative efforts to pass a bill banning insider trading by members of Congress had floundered.

But all that is changing—and fast.

Congressman Tim Walz (D-MN) says that before the 60 Minutes report on Schweizer’s book, his STOCK (Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge) Act, H.R. 1148, had only garnered four cosponsors in Congress since he and Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-NY) re-introduced the legislation on March 18, 2011.

In the two days since the 60 Minutes program aired, Walz says the number of House members supporting the bill has shot up to thirty-five, and climbing.

Congressman Walz says the 60 Minutes report on Throw Them All Out is making all the difference.

“If you didn’t think Congress’ approval rating can go any lower than 9 percent, have them watch the 60 Minutes story,” he told the Mankato Free Press. “And that’s a problem.”

As for the official language used in the eventual bill, Rep. Pelosi said, “I’m sure they’ll come up with something that removes all doubt that this is something that is acceptable within the Congress, and when they do, to me it seems like it would fly through Congress.”

However, a closer look at the loophole-ridden language of the bill under consideration, says Peter Schweizer, reveals the need for several additional provisions not presently included in the STOCK Act.

First, political candidates and members of Congress should commit to placing their assets in a blind trust, says Schweizer. While many members of Congress do this voluntarily, most don’t. Whether through law or public pressure, says Schweizer, elected officials should reduce the appearance of a conflict of interest by establishing a blind trust.

Second, Schweizer says the bill must protect the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) from budgetary or personal retaliation by the Congress for investigating its members.

Third, an effective bill must prohibit members of Congress and their staffs from passing along private information to family members, friends, or associates that could aid them in making lucrative stock purchases. That, says Schweizer, is not clearly codified in the existing legislation under consideration.

Finally, members of Congress should be required to provide greater transparency about their investments by publicly posting their stock trades within 48 hours of making them. As the New York Post noted yesterday, currently “the bills contain lawyerly loopholes, including a 90-day grace period on reporting stock trades and a narrow limit on trading proscriptions, making them applicable only to ‘pending or prospective legislative action’ involving the issuer of the securities.”