OLYMPIA, Wash. — Two proposals now being considered before the Washington state House Commerce and Labor Committee would ban all state business from being sent offshore. If passed into law, they would be the first of their kind in the United States.
The controversial measures face an uphill battle against legislative opponents in both the House and Senate and powerful pro-business interests in the state. But they also have a powerful ally: Committee Chair Steve Conway.
"I'm going continue to repeat this because I know if I repeat it enough, people start thinking," the House Democrat from Tacoma says. "The offshoring of American work, to my mind, is an economic virus impacting our country."
If passed into law, the measures would be the first of their kind in the nation. House Bill 2405 would prohibit state government services from being performed outside of the United States. A similar measure, House Bill 2768, would prohibit state agencies from sending work to foreign companies or to U.S. companies that would then subcontract state work offshore.