Gallego, Justice back FCC push to onshore call center jobs
- Senators Ruben Gallego and Jim Justice wrote to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
- They back the FCC’s proposed rule on call center onshoring.
- Gallego and Justice want call centers to disclose where each agent is located.
- BLS projects a loss of another 150,000 U.S. call center jobs by 2033.
WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES — Two U.S. senators have urged the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to go further in its proposed call center onshoring rule, asking that call centers disclose the country where an agent is located and raising a right to reach a human when AI systems handle calls.
Democrat Ruben Gallego of Arizona and Republican Jim Justice of West Virginia made the requests in a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that applauded the commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM).
Senators seek disclosure and a right to transfer
If finalized, the rule would encourage telecommunications providers to move customer service jobs back to the United States, according to a release from Gallego’s office.
The senators also called for standardized disclosure text for providers and standards to help them comply.
They backed the NPRM’s proposal to let only U.S.-based call centers handle inquiries involving sensitive personal information, including passwords, bank and credit card details and Social Security numbers.
The pair introduced the Keep Call Centers in America Act last year, which would, among other provisions, give customers the right to transfer to a U.S.-based human representative.
“As the bipartisan Senate sponsors of the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025, we are pleased by the FCC’s meaningful efforts to address offshoring in the call center industry,” the senators wrote.
Letter weighs the costs and benefits of onshoring
The FCC first floated limits on foreign call centers in a draft proposal in March, including a starting cap of 30% on calls handled abroad.
The plan drew broad industry opposition when its comment period closed in late May.
The senators urged the commission to count the economic, consumer and productivity benefits of onshore operations when weighing the rule’s costs and benefits.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a loss of another 150,000 U.S.-based call center jobs by 2033 at current trends, the release said.
The letter keeps pressure on offshore outsourcing of U.S. customer service, with business process outsourcing (BPO) providers serving telecommunications clients most exposed to disclosure and data-handling rules. When a final rule restricts sensitive-data calls to U.S. centers, buyers comparing the top BPO companies worldwide will need providers with onshore capacity for those interactions.
The senators’ letter confirms that the bill’s sponsors want disclosure, right-to-transfer and sensitive-data limits written into the FCC’s final rule.
For enterprise buyers routing U.S. calls offshore, agent-location disclosure and human transfer rights could change how contact center programs are scripted and staffed.
BPO operators with U.S.-based delivery alongside offshore sites are positioned to handle work the rule would keep onshore.
Related news
- WestJet call center workers vote to unionize over offshoring · 29 Sep
- Philippines, India rally against U.S. call center restrictions · 24 Jun
- U.S. retailers oppose FCC plan to onshore call centers · 23 Apr
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
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