Interstate Commerce Commission

The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) was a regulatory agency in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads (and later trucking) to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including interstate bus lines and telephone companies. Beginning in 1906, Congress expanded the ICC's authority to regulate other modes of commerce. The Commission's five members were appointed by the president with the consent of the United States Senate. This was the first independent agency (or so-called Fourth Branch).

Over the course of the latter half of the 20th century, Congress took away many of the ICC's powers and reassigned them to other federal agencies. Congress eventually abolished the ICC in 1995 and transferred its remaining functions to a new agency, the Surface Transportation Board.