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Pocan and McKinley Reintroduce U.S. Call Center and Consumer Protection Act

June 12, 2019

WASHINGTON, DC (June 12, 2019) U.S. Representatives Mark Pocan (WI-02) and David B. McKinley, P.E. (WV-01) today reintroduced H.R. 3219, the U.S. Call Center and Consumer Protection Act, to deter American companies from sending call center and service jobs to foreign countries. U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) reintroduced companion legislation in the Senate.

The bipartisan bill would deter companies from sending American jobs overseas and incentivize them to locate in the United States by creating a public list consisting of companies that sent call center work overseas. Being on the list would make these actors ineligible for federal grants or guaranteed loans. The bill would also require overseas call centers to disclose their locations to customers and would require them to comply with consumers' requests to be transferred to a service agent physically located in the United States.

"When corporations offshore American jobs, our communities and workers suffer the consequences, just so corporations can pay lower wages than what workers in the U.S. make," said Pocan. "The U.S. Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act is smart policy – supported by both Republicans and Democrats – that will help keep call center jobs in the U.S. and help prevent the loss of economic activity in communities across the country. We must do more to support American workers and our economy, and we can start by ensuring that corporations that ship jobs overseas aren't rewarded with federal grants and loans."

"Protecting and creating American jobs should be Congress' top priority," said McKinley. "Plain and simple, we should not be rewarding companies for moving jobs offshore. This bill does not mandate that companies keep call centers here in America, but simply says if you move call center jobs offshore, you don't receive funding from the government. This should be common sense."