SUNSETTING THE ICC: IS IT REALLY DEAD?

Abstract

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was created in 1887 to regulate railroads. By the mid-1970’s it had grown into the premier independent agency in the federal government, regulating all domestic transport modes except air. But starting in the ‘70’s, the Commission began to shrink in both size and power. By 1995’s end, it disappeared, and was replaced by the Surface Transportation Board (STB) that regulates only railroads, although to a lesser extent than the ICC had. There remains the question of whether the ICC is really dead or just renamed.