The fight to keep American call center jobs onshore is not new. In 2015, lawmakers introduced the United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act, a bill meant to slow the tide of offshoring. The goal was simple: companies that moved jobs overseas would face new restrictions, and consumers would gain some control over where their calls were answered. A decade later, Congress has returned to the issue with the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025. This time, the bill looks not only at jobs leaving the country but also at how automation and artificial intelligence are changing the industry.
Here is how the two versions compare:
Bill Focus
- 2015: Centered on stopping companies from moving call center jobs offshore.
- 2025: Adds requirements for transparency around artificial intelligence and its effect on both workers and consumers.
Key change: The focus shifted from just offshoring to also regulating the role of AI in call centers.
Disclosure by Agents
- 2015: Agents only had to say where they were located if the customer asked.
- 2025: Agents must state up front both their location and whether AI is being used.
Key change: Disclosure rules became stronger and now cover both location and AI involvement.
Consumer Rights
- 2015: Customers could ask to be transferred to a U.S. agent.
- 2025: Customers are guaranteed the right to be transferred to a U.S.-based human agent.
Key change: Consumer rights were expanded to ensure access to a human agent, not just someone in the U.S.
Offshoring Penalties
- 2015: Companies risked losing eligibility for federal loans and grants if they moved jobs overseas.
- 2025: Companies that offshore more than 30 percent of call volume can lose access to federal contracts, grants, and loans for as long as five years.
Key change: Penalties became stricter, longer, and tied to specific thresholds of offshoring.
Buy American Preference
- 2015: Federal agencies were encouraged to choose companies that kept call center jobs in the United States.
- 2025: The rule still applies but is tied to compliance with new AI disclosure and reporting requirements.
Key change: The preference for U.S.-based firms now includes compliance with AI transparency rules.
Reporting Requirements
- 2015: Employers had to notify the Department of Labor when they offshored jobs.
- 2025: Companies must now also report on their use of AI and the impact it has on jobs.
Key change: Reporting expanded from offshoring alone to include how AI affects the workforce.
Worker Protections
- 2015: Focused mainly on preventing job loss from offshoring.
- 2025: Broader protections that address both outsourcing and the displacement of workers by automation.
Key change: Workers are now protected from both outsourcing and job loss due to automation.
Accountability and Enforcement
- 2015: Enforcement was limited to restricting access to federal aid.
- 2025: Introduces mandatory reporting, compliance frameworks, and audits.
Key change: Enforcement became far stronger with new oversight tools and accountability measures.
Scope of Regulation
- 2015: Narrowly focused on offshoring.
- 2025: Covers both offshoring and the growing use of AI in customer service.
Key change: The scope expanded from a single issue to the broader landscape of offshoring and automation.
The Legislative Path and Why the 2015 Bill Failed
The 2015 bill never became law. It was introduced with bipartisan support in both the House and Senate but stalled in committee. Lawmakers reintroduced it several times in the following years, including 2016, 2017, and 2021, but each time it failed to gain traction.
Several factors worked against it. Outsourcing firms and business groups lobbied heavily against the proposal, arguing that it would raise costs and make companies less competitive. The political climate also played a role. Offshoring was an issue, but it lacked the urgency of larger debates over trade and healthcare. On top of that, Congress was focused on other economic priorities.
Although the bill failed, it planted the seeds for today’s legislation. The key provisions, such as disclosure of agent location, consumer transfer rights, and penalties for offshoring, stayed in circulation. By 2025, new concerns about automation, data privacy, and consumer trust gave those ideas fresh momentum.
The Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025 is not just a revival of the 2015 bill. It is a recognition that the risks facing call centers today are not only about jobs being moved overseas but also about the way technology is reshaping the customer experience.