As someone who is dedicated to supporting policies that benefit American companies, American workers and American taxpayers in a global economy, I announced this week that I will be cosponsoring legislation designed to save and create local jobs by encouraging companies to keep their customer service call centers in the United States rather than shipping them overseas.
We need to protect and create as many local American jobs as possible. The U.S. Call Center and Consumer Protection Act will help keep our workers here in the States employed, protect taxpayers and offer more consumer protection than any other country can. I’m proud to cosponsor this legislation and hope the House Republican Majority brings it up for a vote soon.
The U.S. Call Center and Consumer Protection Act helps save and create local U.S. jobs by barring corporations that send U.S. call center jobs overseas from receiving any direct or indirect federal grants, loans or loan guarantees for five years after the outsourcing.
The bill, whose primary sponsor is Congressman Tim Bishop (D-NY1), also requires overseas call center employees to disclose their location to U.S. consumers and gives customers the right to be transferred to a U.S.-based call center upon request.
The legislation is also designed to protect American consumers because overseas call centers often lack the privacy and security precautions that American call centers must operate under.
Finally, the bill protects taxpayers by discouraging American companies from taking tax incentives to open call centers in the U.S. only to move the jobs overseas shortly after opening.
According to the Communications Workers of America, which represents call center workers in the U.S., there is a steady trend of American companies outsourcing call center jobs, with total U.S. customer service/call center jobs dropping from 5.2 million in 2006 to 4.7 million in 2010.
is the representative of New York’s Fourth Congressional District. She was first elected in 1996.
