Of the several federal agencies that protect the consumer, the major regulatory agency charged with this responsibility is the Federal Commission (FTC).we shall look briefly at its history, purposes, and functions.
The FTC was created in 1914 by an act of Congress, which has been amended many times in subsequent years. The FTC is empowered to prevent “unfair methods of competition” and “unfair or deceptive acts or practices” by business.
The FTC was organized as an independent administrative agency in 1951, which means that although the commissioners of the FTC are appointed by the President (with Senate approval), the Commission is not supervised by the President. The agency has no explicit authority to punish offenders; its function is to prevent abuses through what are called ‘ cease and desist’ orders .However , for violations of commission orders ,the FTC may ask the Justice Department to go to court and seek civil penalties of up to $100,000.
One of the recent and most significant additions to the FTC is the Bureau of Consumer Protection. This branch severs as an advocate for the consumer, and provides information to the public on consumer protection and restraint of trade and assists consumers in registering complaints.
In recent years citizens groups have favored expanding government efforts on behalf of the consumer by establishing a much larger Consumer Protection Agency with expanded jurisdiction and powers .Congress has not seen fit to enact such legislation, largely because of countervailing from business to reduce what they see as the excessive burden of government regulation.
參考答案:你等会，马上就来
在几个保护消费者的联邦机构中，公平贸易委员会是主要的行使职责的机构。我们来简要了解下它的历史，宗旨和职能。
公平贸易委员会由国会发起，成立于1941年。在接下来的几年中又多次修正。
其最高权利和宗旨是防止商业中的不公平竞争及不公平或欺诈的行为。
公平贸易委员会于1951年成为一个独立的管理机构，也就是说，即使公平贸易委员会的委员由总统（通过参议院的批准）指派，但委员会的成员不受总统的监督和管理。该机构没有明确的权利处罚违规者，其职能只是通过“停止和终止”命令防止滥用。然而，对违反命令者，委员会可上诉司法部门向法院寻求民事处罚高达100,000美元。
委员会最近最有意义的事是增加“消费者保护署”的职能。该分支机构的职责是维护消费者（权益）即为消费者保护提供信息，限制贸易（可能是不正当贸易吧），解决消费者登记过的投诉。
近年来公民团体热衷于扩大政府的努力，代表消费者建立消费者保护机构，,并扩大管辖范围及权利. 国会认为，现在不宜通过立法，很大程度上取决于商界的补偿可以减轻政府管理是所承受过重的负担。
自己翻的哦！花了不少时间，供参考。可能有些地方还不妥当，但大部分意思都翻到位了。
