YEAR IN REVIEW SIDEBAR: Contract on America's Environment

The Republican "Contract with America," 10 draft bills the GOP has vowed to push through in the first 100 days of the next Congress, represents a sweeping attempt to remake the way government functions. At first glance, the package has little to say about the environment. But buried within the bills -- which sport advertising-slogan names such as the "American Dream Restoration Act" -- lie a number of provisions that would indirectly undermine the foundation of environmental, health and safety protections.

A sampling: