|POLITICAL SCENE||December 1996| In areas that affect
geoscientists (and many others), the 104th Congress left a great
deal of unfinished business. Its legacy will ultimately depend
on whether the 105th Congress, which convenes next month,
carries through on its predecessor's agenda. President Clinton's
re-election and the lack of a filibuster-proof Republican
majority in the Senate ensure that legislative progress will be
gained only through compromise -- as was true for the past two
years. This pattern of success through compromise was clearly
demonstrated in the area of environmental legislation. The
passage of major environmental bills such as pesticide reform
and reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act were achieved
through broad bipartisan cooperation (see Political Scene,
Geotimes, September 1996). In contrast, high-profile attempts to
reform Superfund, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered
Species Act garnered much attention but made little progress due
to a lack of consensus. The 104th Congr