448
Thomas, J., dissenting
sary, tariff rates when filed. 426 U. S., at 514. Similarly, we held in Trans Alaska that, "as in [Chesapeake & Ohio], the . . . conditions [imposed were] a '. . . direct adjunct to the Commission's explicit statutory power to suspend rates pending investigation,' in that they allow[ed] the Commission, in exercising its suspension power, to pursue 'a more measured course' and to 'offe[r] an alternative tailored far more precisely to the particular circumstances' of these cases." 436 U. S., at 655 (quoting Chesapeake & Ohio, supra, at 514). In both cases, although the actions had only prospective effect, we determined whether they came within the Commission's implied powers by applying essentially the same test that we subsequently applied in American Trucking to determine whether the action was within the Commission's implied powers. See 467 U. S., at 367.
III
A
Proceeding with the analysis outlined above, I necessarily begin with the terms of the statute. The Act expressly gives the Commission an "impressive array of prescriptive powers, overcharge assessments, damages remedies, and civil and criminal fines" to enable it to enforce the filing and substantive requirements of the Act. Id., at 379 (O'Connor, J., dissenting). See also id., at 359-360. Nowhere, however, does the Act give the Commission authority to render a duly filed and effective tariff void upon noncompliance with a statutory or regulatory requirement.
It might be thought that the most likely source of authority to promulgate the void-for-nonparticipation rule is 49 U. S. C. § 10762(e), which authorizes the Commission to "reject" tariffs. American Trucking, however, forecloses reliance on that section. Although § 10762(e) does not by its terms apply only to proposed tariffs, we concluded in American Trucking that "unbridled discretion to reject effective tariffs at any time would undermine restraints placed by
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