Georgia House of Representatives
Public Information Office
Room 505, Legislative Office Building
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-5082 1-800-282-5800
2-1954-5108
For Immediate Release 		 
February 3, 2004
Noel Proposes Ban on Outsourcing of Government Call Center Jobs
State Representative John Noel (D-Atlanta) has introduced legislation in the Georgia General Assembly which he hopes will help to protect American jobs, and ensure citizens calling to inquire about government services will not be transferred to a foreign country.

HB 1357, authored by Noel, would ban international outsourcing of any call centers which provide information on state and/or local government services within Georgia. The proposed legislation mandates that any telephone call center operated by, or on the behalf of any department, agency, or other entity of Georgia state or local government should be physically located entirely within the United States.

“There are instances where a government agency will contract with a company to provide call center services, and then that company turns around and sends those jobs to India,” said Rep. Noel.

One such example is the Georgia Department of Human Resources which contracts with the company Citicorp to operate its Food Stamp Program customer service center. Citicorp then outsources those jobs to India. The contract is worth some $8 million per year.

“That is simply unacceptable,” continued Noel. “State taxpayer dollars should not be going to generate jobs in foreign countries.”

Rep. Noel is serves on the MARTOC, Transportation and Natural Resources and Environment Committees.

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For further information please contact Rep. Noel at 404-656-0265 or home at 404-254-7170.