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Call center outsourcing companies must be prepared to face the consequences that could come with the passing of a newly proposed anti-outsourcing bill that is continuing to gain increased support from legislators.

A recent article in Computer World by Patrick Thibodeau stated that the anti-outsourcing bill that aims to discourage U.S. companies from setting up offshore call centers is gaining bipartisan support in the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Call Center and Consumer Protection Act was originally created by U.S. Rep. Timothy Bishop (D-N.Y.), and David McKinley (R-W.V.).

When introduced back in December, the bill had only a handful of sponsors, but now that level of support has grown  to 77 co-sponsors including five Republicans.

If passed, the bill will mandate that the U.S. Department of Labor list employers who relocate call centers overseas and that workers in the center disclose their locations to callers who ask. It will also require that companies provide 120 days notice when relocating a call center from the U.S. to an overseas location.

The Philippines and India are the two countries that would be hit the hardest following the ratification of the anti outsourcing bill. The Philippine government, concerned about how the proposed legislation would impact its large call center industry, is lobbying lawmakers to reject the bill, according to the Computer World report.

Recently, TMCnet reported that the Philippines is preparing for the worst, but hoping for the best as the country is taking a preemptive strike to increase the business process outsourcing industry as a whole, rather than just call center outsourcing in particular. In addition to voice-based call centers, employees in the Philippines also offer important non-voice outsourcing services such as conducting research and analytics for lawyers, doctors and bankers.