“Most Ohioans that have had to call a major company for a service repair or to get an answer about their cable bill have ended up speaking with a worker in a different time zone, on a different continent,” Brown said Tuesday. “When companies send call center jobs overseas, they don’t just frustrate consumers — they hurt our economy as well. With thousands of Ohioans looking for work, it just doesn’t make sense to ship these jobs overseas.”

{mosads}S. 3402 also requires companies to disclose to callers when their calls are being transferred abroad.

“By requiring companies to disclose when their calls are being transferred abroad, businesses could be encouraged to keep their call centers jobs here in the United States,” Brown said. “This bill will also stop giving American tax dollars to big businesses that ship call center jobs overseas. Why should we hand over federal grants or loans to companies that hand over American jobs to other countries?”

Their bill would also direct the Department of Labor to make a public list of companies that outsource their calling centers and those employers would remain on that list for three years after relocation. The bill would require federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, to give preference to U.S. employers that do not appear on the list.

Brown is the only co-sponsor of the bill, and Casey introduced it shortly before the August recess.

“Companies that outsource their call centers overseas shouldn’t see the benefits of government grants and loans,” Casey said in Allentown, Pa., Monday. “Keeping call center jobs in the Lehigh Valley is good for our workers and our economy, and passing my bill will send a clear signal that outsourcing jobs will not be rewarded.”

Ohio and Pennsylvania both have a number of call center jobs.