Cite as: 511 U. S. 431 (1994)
Thomas, J., dissenting
Congress on the Commission's power to suspend a proposed tariff." 467 U. S., at 363.1 We therefore held that § 10762(e) does not apply "to tariffs that have gone into effect." Id., at 362. The critical point for our analysis of the Commission's express authority under the Act was not that the proposed remedy was retroactive, but that it voided an effective tariff. Our holding was premised on recognition that once a tariff becomes effective, the Commission's power to nullify it is limited by the Act.2 Section 10704(b), for example, "which deals with the Commission's authority to cancel effective tariffs," requires a full Commission hearing before action is taken. Id., at 363 (emphasis added). The void-for-nonparticipation rule, which nullifies effective tariffs, provides none of the same procedural protections. Quite the contrary, it obviates the need for "any agency action at all." Ante, at 442.
1 The Commission may, pending investigation, suspend a "proposed rate, classification, rule, or practice at any time for not more than 7 months beyond the time it would otherwise go into effect." 49 U. S. C. § 10708(b) (emphasis added). To do so, the Commission must notify the carrier and file a notice of suspension with the proposed tariff. If the Commission fails to act by the end of the suspension period, the tariff goes into effect. Ibid.
2 The D. C. Circuit has linked this conclusion to the concept of retroactivity. See Overland Express, Inc. v. ICC, 996 F. 2d 356, 360 (CADC 1993) ("That a tariff was effective or in effect is what makes rejection retroactive"), cert. pending, No. 93-883. Cf. Justice Ginsburg's dissent, post, at 457. I agree with the Court that the void-for-nonparticipation rule operates only prospectively, see ante, at 441, because the rule does not affect any transportation provided prior to the lapse in participation that triggers application of the rule. Nevertheless, because American Trucking focused, not on retroactivity, but on the Commission's nullification of an effective tariff, the D. C. Circuit properly concluded that the decisive factor for American Trucking's statutory analysis was the rejection of a tariff after its effective date. In other words, the D. C. Circuit was correct in stating in the disjunctive that "[t]he Commission is restricted [by American Trucking's holding] whenever it attempts to invalidate (or alter the past effects of) a tariff after the application period has ended." Overland Express, supra, at 360 (emphasis added).
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