WASHINGTON – Yesterday Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kansas), along with Reps. Danny Davis (D-Illinois), Darin LaHood (R-Illinois), Jackie Walorski (R-Indiana), Ann Wagner (R-Missouri), William Timmons (R-South Carolina), Ralph Norman (R-South Carolina), Ron Kind (D-Wisconsin), Bill Pascrell (D-New Jersey), Don Beyer (D-Virginia), John Larson (D-Connecticut), Jimmy Panetta (D-California) and Steven Horsford (D-Nevada), introduced the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021. This legislation would require the U.S. Treasury Department to transfer all records and ownership of unclaimed, matured savings bonds to states to find the rightful owners and heirs of the bonds. The bipartisan legislation currently has 12 total cosponsors.
"For decades, the U.S. Treasury has held people's matured savings bonds without returning them to the legal owners or heirs, including nearly $210 million in unclaimed bonds owed to Kansans. The Unclaimed Savings Bond Act will ensure states are able to access Treasury records and return matured, unclaimed savings bonds to their legal owners,"said Rep. Estes."As Kansas state treasurer, I helped Kansas become one of the first states to pursue legal action to obtain unclaimed bonds and return them to their owners. I'm proud to introduce this legislative fix to address this issue across the country."
Currently, there are nearly $28 billion worth of decades old, matured, unclaimed United States Savings Bonds sitting in the U.S. Treasury, a number that has grown by roughly $10 billion within the last decade. The federal government uses this money as it pleases, even though the money constitutes a loan made to the government by citizens decades ago. Despite maintaining records of the bond owners and their bonds, the Treasury Department has done nothing to contact the rightful owners of the unredeemed bonds, even when the bonds matured and were payable. While states often make efforts to return unclaimed property, Treasury has refused to give states access to the records to do so. Since 1952, states have tried to get the federal government to turn over the names and addresses of those individuals so they could be found and notified of their unclaimed bonds. Recently, states, beginning with Kansas, have initiated litigation to obtain the records from the Treasury Department.
"For generations, U.S. savings bonds have been a staple for family gifts commemorating birthdays, holidays, and graduations,"said Rep. Davis."It effectively is a loan to the federal government. Individuals purchase the bond in exchange for a fixed rate of interest over a fixed period. When that time expires, the savings bond ceases to earn interest. If unpaid, the federal government benefits from the initial loan as well as the unpaid interest. Savings bonds are attractive to investors because they are not subject to state or local income taxes. With the passage of the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021, Illinois will reclaim roughly $1 billion worth of decades old, matured, unclaimed United States Savings Bonds sitting in the U.S. Treasury. Savings bonds values start at $25 and can increase to as much as $10,000."
"Illinois has over $1 billion in matured and unclaimed savings bonds,"said Rep. LaHood."If the Federal government continues to refuse to notify the rightful owners of matured bonds, then the states should be allowed to step in and do so. I am proud to join this bipartisan group to introduce this legislation, which will ensure the money of hard-working taxpayers returns to their pockets."
"Millions of Americans entered a financial agreement with the federal government by purchasing government bonds,"said Rep. Timmons."However, the Treasury Department is currently preventing the government from fulfilling its end of the bargain. The Unclaimed Savings Bonds Act will help South Carolinians retrieve over $350 million in unclaimed bonds. This bipartisan legislation will help eliminate much of the red tape precluding the return of billions of dollars in government bonds to its rightful owners."
"In Connecticut alone there are more than $281 million in unclaimed savings bonds,"said Rep. Larson."We need to do everything we can to return this money to their rightful owners. I've heard directly from Connecticut State Treasurer Shawn Wooden on how important this legislation is and am happy to work with Reps. Estes and Davis to advance it."
Estimated Value of Unredeemed Lost or Missing Bonds:
Alabama: $383m
Alaska: $57m
Arizona: $532m
Arkansas: $234m
California: $3.0b
Colorado: $421m
Connecticut: $281m
Delaware: $72m
Florida: $1.4b
Georgia: $745m
Hawaii: $113m
Idaho: $129m
Illinois: $1.0b
Indiana: $478m
Iowa: $226m
Kansas: $209m
Kentucky: $319m
Louisiana: $337m
Maine: $97m
Maryland: $469m
Massachusetts: $523m
Michigan: $773m
Minnesota: $429m
Mississippi: $215m
Missouri: $438m
Montana: $80m
Nebraska: $148m
Nevada: $225m
New Hampshire: $96m
New Jersey: $695m
New Mexico: $162m
New York: $1.5b
North Carolina: $735m
North Dakota: $60m
Ohio: $837m
Oklahoma: $312m
Oregon: $314m
Pennsylvania: $840m
Rhode Island: $75m
South Carolina: $357m
South Dakota: $62m
Tennessee: $480m
Texas: $2.1b
Utah: $233m
Vermont: $50m
Virginia: $656m
Washington: $560m
West Virginia: $132m
Wisconsin: $415m
Wyoming: $45m
