Environmental legislative accomplishments: The 104th congress in review and a look at what's ahead

Contrary to many's expectations, the Republican‐led 104th Congress passed a substantial amount of environmental legislation. In addition to a variety of bills that received limited public attention, two major environmental laws—the Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments and the Food Quality Protection Act—were passed and signed into law. Still, many important legislative efforts were left unfinished at the end of the second session and will resurface in the 105th Congress. This article discusses the environmental legislation that passed in the 104th Congress and explores what environmental legislative initiatives will be addressed in the 105th Congress. (While not intended to be all‐inclusive, the article mentions most major environmental legislation, with a particular focus on waste issues.)