Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • Interstate Commerce Commission: A former independent agency of the United States federal government. Its primary functions were to regulate and oversee the rates and services of carriers (such as railroads and trucking companies) involved in transporting goods and people across state lines. It was the first independent federal regulatory agency established in the U.S.

Usage

• The ICC was created to ensure fair practices in interstate transportation.
• For most of the 20th century, the ICC played a central role in the American economy.
• The ICC was terminated in 1995, and many of its functions were transferred to other agencies.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Reference: The term ICC is primarily used in historical, legal, and economic contexts when discussing U.S. regulatory history.
  • The dismantling of the ICC marked a significant shift toward deregulation in the transportation industry.

Variants and Related Words

• Interstate Commerce Commission: The full, formal name of the agency.
• Interstate Commerce Act: The 1887 law that established the ICC.

Synonyms

• Regulatory agency
• Federal commission (in the specific historical U.S. context)

Notes

• ICC is an initialism (an abbreviation formed from initial letters). It is typically pronounced by saying each letter: "I-C-C."
• This entry specifically defines the U.S. regulatory agency. The same initialism (ICC) can stand for other organizations (e.g., the International Criminal Court or the International Cricket Council), but those are distinct entities with different meanings.

Noun

1. a former independent federal agency that supervised and set rates for carriers that transported goods and people between states; was terminated in 1995
   • the ICC was established in 1887 as the first federal agency