ABSTRACT
In light of the Magnuson-Moss Act's origins and sources of support, however, it was reasonable to question just how much concern would actually be expended on small business and consumers. Michael Pertschuk, which had a "reputation for being antibusiness" and whose "relationship with business had deep adversarial roots", had been "staff director and chief counsel for the Senate Commerce Committee for twelve years prior to his Federal Trade Commission chairmanship". It was Pertschuk, rebuked for his "self-righteous rhetoric" many years before his chairmanship, who had "nurtured and drafted virtually all of the major consumer legislation, including the Magnuson-Moss Act. Pertschuk was chief aide to Magnuson (1944-81), described by James Ridgeway in the New Republic in 1966 as trying to change his image from " 'corporate stooge' to consumer advocate". Chairman Magnuson's Commerce Committee staff was already drafting federal chartering into the shape of legislation to be introduced within a short time.
