Cite as: 537 U. S. 36 (2002)
Opinion of the Court
II
Neither party disputes that Chevron, supra, governs the interpretive task at hand. In ISTEA, Congress made an express delegation of authority to the ICC to promulgate standards for implementing the new Single State Registration System. 49 U. S. C. § 11506(c)(1) (1994 ed.). The ICC did so, interpreting ISTEA's fee-cap provision subsequent to a notice-and-comment rulemaking. See United States v. Mead Corp., 533 U. S. 218, 229 (2001) ("[A] very good indicator of delegation meriting Chevron treatment [is an] express congressional authorizatio[n] to engage in the process of rule-making or adjudication that produces regulations or rulings for which deference is claimed"). The Federal Highway Administration adopted the ICC's regulations, see supra, at 39, n., and the Single State Registration System is now administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. 49 U. S. C. § 113.
Accordingly, the question before us is whether the text of the statute resolves the issue, or, if not, whether the ICC's interpretation is permissible in light of the deference to be accorded the agency under the statutory scheme. If the statute speaks clearly "to the precise question at issue," we "must give effect to the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress." Chevron, 467 U. S., at 842-843. If the statute is instead "silent or ambiguous with respect to the specific issue," we must sustain the agency's interpretation if it is "based on a permissible construction of the statute." Id., at 843; see Barnhart v. Walton, 535 U. S. 212, 217-218 (2002).
ISTEA's fee-cap provision does not foreclose the ICC's determination that fees charged under States' pre-existing reciprocity agreements were, in effect, frozen by the new Single State Registration System. The provision requires that the new system "result in a fee for each participating State that is equal to the fee, not to exceed $10 per vehicle, that such State collected or charged as of November 15, 1991." 49 U. S. C. § 14504(c)(2)(B)(iv)(III). The language "collected or
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