528
Opinion of OTMConnor, J.
ity. We first rejected the employer's substantive due process challenge based on our decisions in Gray and Turner Elkhorn, notwithstanding the employer's argument that the MPPAA imposed upon it a higher liability than its contract contemplated. 508 U. S., at 636-641. The claim under the Takings Clause, meanwhile, was resolved by Connolly. We explained that, as in that case, the Government had not occupied or destroyed the employer's property. 508 U. S., at 643-644. As to the severity of the MPPAA's impact, we concluded that the employer had not shown that its withdrawal liability was " 'out of proportion to its experience with the plan' " Id., at 645 (quoting Connolly, supra, at 226). Turning to the employer's reasonable investment-backed expectations, we repeated our observation in Connolly that "pension plans had long been subject to federal regulation." 508 U. S., at 645. Moreover, although the employer's liability under the MPPAA exceeded ERISA's original cap on withdrawal liability, we found that there was "no reasonable basis to expect that [ERISA's] legislative ceiling would never be lifted." Id., at 646. In sum, as in Connolly, the employer "voluntarily negotiated and maintained a pension plan which was determined to be within the strictures of ERISA," making the burden the MPPAA imposed upon it neither unfair nor unjust. 508 U. S., at 646-647 (internal quotation marks omitted).
Our opinions in Turner Elkhorn, Connolly, and Concrete Pipe make clear that Congress has considerable leeway to fashion economic legislation, including the power to affect contractual commitments between private parties. Congress also may impose retroactive liability to some degree, particularly where it is "confined to short and limited periods required by the practicalities of producing national legislation." Gray, 467 U. S., at 731 (internal quotation marks omitted). Our decisions, however, have left open the possibility that legislation might be unconstitutional if it imposes severe retroactive liability on a limited class of parties
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