OTHER NEWS - June 20, 1994

House Votes to Abolish ICC: The House of Representatives voted to abolish the Interstate Commerce Commission, the nation’s oldest independent regulatory agency. The ICC, founded in 1887, regulates rates set by railroads and trucking companies that carry freight. The 234-192 vote came on an amendment that cut the full $43-million budget for the ICC in the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 from an appropriations bill for the Transportation Department and related agencies. Supporters of the amendment said the ICC was no longer needed as a separate agency because most rail and truck rates have been deregulated. The amendment would transfer the ICC’s remaining functions to the Transportation Department. The Senate would also have to approve the action before the ICC could be abolished.