We finish our look at the legislative history of the Comprehensive Emergency Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980.

In the midpoint of 1980, the Presidential election was in full stride, and the reelection of President Jimmy Carter looked increasingly doubtful.

Feeling the pressure to enact a Superfund law before the end of the year, Congress scrambled to compromise between three legislative proposals moving through committee: Senate Bill 1480, House Resolution 7020 and House Resolution 85.

With Carter's loss, and may Superfund proponents voted out of the Senate, those remaining succumbed to the realization that much of their ambition would have to be shed in order to pass legislation that at least began to address America's toxic waste crisis.