H.R. 4954

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4954 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4954

To require the Secretary of Labor to maintain a publicly available list 
of all employers that relocate a call center or contract call center 
work overseas, to make such companies ineligible for Federal grants or 
guaranteed loans, and to require disclosure of the physical location of 
business agents engaging in customer service communications, and for 
other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

August 12, 2025

Ms. McDonald Rivet (for herself and Mr. Fitzpatrick) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Education and Workforce, 
Oversight and Government Reform, and Armed Services, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 
concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To require the Secretary of Labor to maintain a publicly available list 
of all employers that relocate a call center or contract call center 
work overseas, to make such companies ineligible for Federal grants or 
guaranteed loans, and to require disclosure of the physical location of 
business agents engaging in customer service communications, and for 
other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Keep Call Centers 
in America Act of 2025''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
TITLE I--CONSEQUENCES FOR RELOCATING OR CONTRACTING CALL CENTER WORK 
OVERSEAS

Sec. 101. List of call centers relocating or contracting call center 
work overseas and ineligibility for grants 
or guaranteed loans.
Sec. 102. Rule of construction related to Federal benefits for workers.
Sec. 103. Report regarding Federal call center work locations.
Sec. 104. Requirement that call center work under a Federal contract be 
performed inside the United States.
TITLE II--REQUIRED DISCLOSURES IN CUSTOMER SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS

Sec. 201. Required disclosures by business entities engaged in customer 
service communications.
Sec. 202. Enforcement.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act:
(1) Agency.--The term ``agency'' means a Federal or State 
executive agency or a military department.
(2) Artificial intelligence.--The term ``artificial 
intelligence'' means a machine-based system that can, for 
explicit or implicit objectives, infer from the input it 
receives how to generate outputs such as predictions, 
recommendations, or decisions that can influence real or 
virtual environments.
(3) Business entity.--The term ``business entity'' means 
any organization, corporation, trust, partnership, sole 
proprietorship, unincorporated association, or venture 
established to make a profit, in whole or in part, by 
purposefully availing itself of the privilege of conducting 
commerce in the United States.
(4) Call center.--The term ``call center'' means an 
operation in which employees (including employees working at 
one or more facilities or employees working remotely from the 
home of the employee) receive incoming telephone calls, emails, 
or other electronic communication for the purpose of providing 
customer assistance or other service.
(5) Consumer.--The term ``consumer'' means any individual 
within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States who 
purchases, transacts, or contracts for the purchase or 
transaction of any goods, merchandise, or services, not for 
resale in the ordinary course of the individual's trade or 
business, but for the individual's use or that of a member of 
the individual's household.
(6) Contracting call center work overseas.--The term 
``contracting call center work overseas'' means transferring 
the work of a call center, or of one or more facilities or 
operating units within a call center comprising at least 30 
percent of the total volume of the call center or operating 
unit when measured against the previous 12-month average call 
volume of operations or substantially similar operations, 
through a contract or other agreement to another entity who 
will perform that work outside of the United States.
(7) Customer service communication.--The term ``customer 
service communication'' means any telecommunication or wire 
communication between a consumer and a business entity in 
furtherance of commerce.
(8) Employer.--The term ``employer'' means any business 
enterprise that employs in a call center--
(A) 50 or more employees, excluding part-time 
employees; or
(B) 50 or more employees who in the aggregate work 
at least 1,500 hours per week (exclusive of hours of 
overtime).
(9) Part-time employee.--The term ``part-time employee'' 
means an employee who is employed for an average of fewer than 
20 hours per week or who has been employed for fewer than 6 of 
the 12 months preceding the date on which notice is required.
(10) Relocating and relocation.--The terms ``relocating'' 
and ``relocation'' refer to the closure of a call center, or 
the cessation of operations of a call center, or one or more 
facilities or operating units within a call center comprising 
at least 30 percent of the total volume of the call center or 
operating unit, when measured against the previous 12-month 
average call volume of operations or substantially similar 
operations, and the transferring of the operations of the call 
center (or facilities or operating units) to another location 
outside of the United States.
(11) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
of Labor.
(12) Telecommunication.--The term ``telecommunication'' 
means the transmission, between or among points specified by 
the communicator, of information of the communicator's 
choosing, without change in the form or content of the 
information as sent and received.
(13) Wire communication.--The term ``wire communication'' 
means the transmission of writing, signs, signals, pictures, 
and sounds of all kinds by aid of wire, cable, or other like 
connection between the points of origin and reception of such 
transmission, including all instrumentalities, facilities, 
apparatus, and services (among other things, the receipt, 
forwarding, and delivery of communications) incidental to such 
transmission.

TITLE I--CONSEQUENCES FOR RELOCATING OR CONTRACTING CALL CENTER WORK 
OVERSEAS

SEC. 101. LIST OF CALL CENTERS RELOCATING OR CONTRACTING CALL CENTER 
WORK OVERSEAS AND INELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS OR GUARANTEED 
LOANS.

(a) List.--
(1) Notice requirement.--
(A) In general.--Not fewer than 120 days before 
relocating a call center outside of the United States 
or contracting call center work overseas, an employer 
shall notify the Secretary of such relocation or 
contracting.
(B) Penalty.--A person who violates subparagraph 
(A) shall be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed 
$10,000 for each day of violation.
(2) Establishment and maintenance of list.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall establish, 
maintain, and make available to the public a list of 
all employers who relocate a call center or contract 
call center work overseas, as described in paragraph 
(1)(A).
(B) Term.--Each employer included in the list 
required by subparagraph (A) shall remain on the list, 
except as provided in subparagraph (C), for a period 
not to exceed 5 years after each instance of relocating 
a call center or contracting call center work overseas.
(C) Removal.--The Secretary shall remove an 
employer from the list required by subparagraph (A) if 
the Secretary determines that--
(i)(I) the employer has relocated a call 
center from a location outside of the United 
States to a location in the United States; and
(II) the new call center in the United 
States employs a number of employees equal to 
or greater than the number of employees who 
worked at the original call center that was 
relocated to a location outside of the United 
States; or
(ii) in the case of an employer who 
contracted call center work overseas, the 
employer demonstrates that the contract or 
agreement has been amended to require that all 
employees performing call center work under the 
contract or agreement will be located in the 
United States.
(b) Ineligibility for Grants or Guaranteed Loans.--
(1) Ineligibility.--
(A) New awards.--
(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
paragraph (2) and clause (ii) and 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, an 
employer that appears on the list required by 
subsection (a)(2)(A) shall be ineligible to 
apply for or receive any direct or indirect 
Federal grants or Federal guaranteed loans for 
5 years after the date such employer was added 
to the list.
(ii) Exception for upcoming removal from 
ineligibility list.--
(I) In general.--An employer that 
appears on the list required by 
subsection (a)(2)(A) may be eligible to 
apply for and receive a grant or loan 
described in clause (i) if the employer 
certifies to the awarding agency that 
the employer will meet the requirements 
described in subsection (a)(2)(C) to be 
removed by the Secretary from such list 
not later than 180 days after the date 
on which the employer receives the 
grant or loan.
(II) Cancellation of grant or 
loan.--With respect to any employer 
that makes a certification described in 
subclause (I) and receives the 
applicable grant or loan, the awarding 
agency for such grant or loan shall 
cancel the grant or loan and clawback 
any amount of the grant or loan 
received by such employer if the 
employer fails to meet the requirements 
described in subsection (a)(2)(C) not 
later than 180 days after the date on 
which the employer received the grant 
or loan.
(B) Existing awards.--
(i) In general.--Except as provided in 
paragraph (2) and notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, an employer that has received 
any direct or indirect Federal grant or Federal 
guaranteed loan and, after receiving the grant 
or loan, is added to the list required by 
subsection (a)(2)(A)--
(I) shall, on a monthly basis 
during the term of the grant for each 
month in which the employer appears on 
such list, pay a penalty to the 
awarding agency of the grant or loan 
equal to 8.3 percent of the total grant 
or loan payment dispersed to the 
employer as of the date on which the 
first penalty is required to be paid 
under this clause; and
(II) shall not be entitled or 
eligible to receive any further 
disbursement of the grant or loan while 
on such list.
(ii) Cancellation.--An agency that has 
awarded any direct or indirect Federal grant or 
Federal guaranteed loan to an employer 
described in clause (i) shall cancel the grant 
or loan if the employer remains on the list 
required by subsection (a)(2)(A) as of the date 
that is one year after the date on which the 
employer is first required to pay the penalty 
under subclause (I).
(iii) Use of penalty amounts.--
(I) In general.--Amounts paid as a 
penalty under clause (i)(I) to an 
awarding agency shall be available to 
the awarding agency, without further 
appropriation, for the grant or loan 
program with respect to which the 
penalty is paid.
(II) Prohibition on redistribution 
to same employer.--Such amounts shall 
not be available through such program 
for the same grant or loan to the 
employer that paid the penalty amounts.
(2) Exceptions.--The Secretary, in consultation with the 
appropriate agency providing a loan or grant, may waive the 
eligibility restriction provided under paragraph (1) if the 
employer applying for such loan or grant demonstrates that a 
lack of such loan or grant would--
(A) threaten national security;
(B) result in substantial job loss in the United 
States; or
(C) harm the environment.
(c) Preference in Federal Contracting for Not Relocating or 
Contracting Call Center Work Overseas.--The head of an agency, when 
awarding a civilian or defense-related Federal contract, shall give 
preference to a United States employer that does not appear on the list 
required by subsection (a)(2)(A).
(d) Effective Date.--This section shall take effect on the date 
that is 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 102. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION RELATED TO FEDERAL BENEFITS FOR WORKERS.

No provision of this title shall be construed to permit withholding 
or denial of payments, compensation, or benefits under any provision of 
Federal law (including Federal unemployment compensation, disability 
payments, or worker retraining or readjustment funds) to workers 
employed by employers that relocate operations outside the United 
States.

SEC. 103. REPORT REGARDING FEDERAL CALL CENTER WORK LOCATIONS.

By not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Secretary of Labor shall prepare and submit to Congress a report 
that documents the location, and amount, of call center work conducted 
by or for the Federal Government, including--
(1) a determination of the amount of such Federal call 
center work that is conducted by Federal employees, and the 
amount conducted by Federal contractors;
(2) all locations at which such Federal call center work is 
being conducted, whether by Federal employees or through 
Federal contracts; and
(3) any job losses associated with the introduction or use 
of artificial intelligence for customer service for Federal 
call center work.

SEC. 104. REQUIREMENT THAT CALL CENTER WORK UNDER A FEDERAL CONTRACT BE 
PERFORMED INSIDE THE UNITED STATES.

The head of an agency, when awarding a civilian or defense-related 
Federal contract, shall require as a condition of the contract that any 
call center work performed in connection with the contract or any 
subcontract under the contract shall be performed inside the United 
States.

TITLE II--REQUIRED DISCLOSURES IN CUSTOMER SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS

SEC. 201. REQUIRED DISCLOSURES BY BUSINESS ENTITIES ENGAGED IN CUSTOMER 
SERVICE COMMUNICATIONS.

(a) Required Disclosure by Business Entities Engaged in Customer 
Service Communications of Physical Location.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), a 
business entity that either initiates or receives a customer 
service communication shall require that, at the beginning of 
each customer service communication so initiated or received, 
each of its employees or agents participating in the 
communication disclose--
(A) their physical location; and
(B) if their physical location is outside of the 
United States, that the consumer may, as provided by 
subsection (c), request to be immediately transferred 
to a customer service agent who is physically located 
in the United States.
(2) Exceptions.--
(A) Business entities located in the united 
states.--The requirements of paragraph (1) shall not 
apply to a customer service communication involving a 
business entity if all of the employees or agents of 
the business entity participating in such communication 
are physically located in the United States.
(B) Communication initiated by consumer knowingly 
to foreign entity or address.--The requirements of 
paragraph (1) shall not apply to an employee or agent 
of a business entity participating in a customer 
service communication with a consumer if--
(i) the customer service communication was 
initiated by the consumer;
(ii) the employee or agent is physically 
located outside the United States; and
(iii) the consumer knows or reasonably 
should know that the employee or agent is 
physically located outside the United States.
(C) Emergency services.--The requirements of 
paragraph (1) shall not apply to a customer service 
communication relating to the provision of emergency 
services (as defined by the Federal Trade Commission).
(D) Business entities and customer service 
communications excluded by federal trade commission.--
The Federal Trade Commission may exclude certain 
classes or types of business entities or customer 
service communications from the requirements of 
paragraph (1) if the Commission finds exceptionally 
compelling circumstances that justify such exclusion.
(b) Required Disclosure by Business Entities Engaged in Customer 
Service Communications of Use of Artificial Intelligence for Customer 
Service.--A business entity that either initiates or receives a 
customer service communication and uses artificial intelligence for 
customer service communication shall, at the beginning of each customer 
service communication so initiated or received, disclose--
(1) that a nonhuman, artificial intelligence or machine is 
being used for customer service; and
(2) that the consumer may, as provided by subsection (c), 
request to be immediately transferred to a human operator who 
is physically located in the United States, including, if 
possible, by voice command (such as by saying the word 
``agent'').
(c) Transfer to U.S.-Based Human Customer Service Center.--A 
business entity that is subject to the requirements of subsection (a) 
or (b) shall, at the request of a consumer, immediately transfer the 
consumer to a human customer service agent who is physically located in 
the United States.
(d) Certification Requirement.--Each year, each business entity 
that participates in a customer service communication shall certify to 
the Federal Trade Commission that it has complied or failed to comply 
with the requirements of subsections (a), (b), and (c).
(e) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Federal Trade Commission shall promulgate 
such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of 
this section.
(f) Effective Date.--The requirements of subsections (a), (b), (c), 
and (d) shall apply with respect to customer service communications 
occurring on or after the date that is 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.

SEC. 202. ENFORCEMENT.

(a) In General.--Any failure to comply with the provisions of 
section 201 shall be treated as a violation of a regulation under 
section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 
57a(a)(1)(B)) regarding unfair or deceptive acts or practices.
(b) Powers of Federal Trade Commission.--
(1) In general.--The Federal Trade Commission shall prevent 
any person from violating section 201 and any regulation 
promulgated thereunder, in the same manner, by the same means, 
and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties as though 
all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were incorporated into 
and made a part of this Act.
(2) Penalties.--Any person who violates regulations 
promulgated under section 201 shall be subject to the penalties 
and entitled to the privileges and immunities provided in the 
Federal Trade Commission Act in the same manner, by the same 
means, and with the same jurisdiction, power, and duties as 
though all applicable terms and provisions of the Federal Trade 
Commission Act were incorporated into and made part of this 
Act.
(c) Authority Preserved.--Nothing in this section or section 201 
shall be construed to limit the authority of the Federal Trade 
Commission under any other provision of law.
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