Congress attempts a $39 billion return to the public
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Americans are owed $39.2 billion by the federal government, according to a Treasury Department tabulation. These funds are in the form of mature, unredeemed savings bonds that individuals bought but have not claimed.
Most of these bonds date to the 1980s, when investors eagerly snatched up bonds carrying annual interest rates topping out at 9%. But some were issued as far back as World War II.
Individuals do not claim bonds for a host of reasons. In some instances, they simply forget because the bond may not be redeemed for 10, 20, or even 30 years. In other cases, the bond owner may have misplaced their paper certificate and not realized they can still get their payout. Other bondholders have died before cashing in, and their heirs are unaware that they are entitled to stake a claim.
Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington on April 23, 2020. (House Television via AP)
The situation is lamentable because the only party to benefit is the government. United States savings bonds, notes Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), are “not like a regular bond where you get quarterly interest payments. You give your money to the Federal Government. The Federal Government takes your name and address. You get a piece of paper. And at the end of however long of a bond you buy — say, 20 years — you get back your principal, plus interest.”
More than six years ago, Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS), a former Kansas state treasurer, introduced legislation to help reconnect savings bond holders and other rightful claimants. His proposal directed the Treasury to transfer data on who owned what unclaimed bonds to states, which would then use their unclaimed property processes to locate bondholders. When the bondholder or rightful claimant cannot be found, a state can pocket the funds.
The bill stalled, but Congress did appropriate $50 million over two years to fund the Treasury’s effort to digitize its old bond records, which would help connect bonds and bondholders and their heirs.
Undeterred, Estes reintroduced his bill in 2021, which garnered 36 cosponsors. Kennedy introduced companion legislation in the Senate, which 29 other senators supported. Republicans and Democrats alike supported the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021, but it was not voted on in either chamber.
Congress seemed to have solved the matter the next year, when Kennedy added a provision to a larger piece of legislation that directed the Secretary of the …
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Americans are owed $39.2 billion by the federal government, according to a Treasury Department tabulation. These funds are in the form of mature, unredeemed savings bonds that individuals bought but have not claimed.
Most of these bonds date to the 1980s, when investors eagerly snatched up bonds carrying annual interest rates topping out at 9%. But some were issued as far back as World War II.
Individuals do not claim bonds for a host of reasons. In some instances, they simply forget because the bond may not be redeemed for 10, 20, or even 30 years. In other cases, the bond owner may have misplaced their paper certificate and not realized they can still get their payout. Other bondholders have died before cashing in, and their heirs are unaware that they are entitled to stake a claim.
Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington on April 23, 2020. (House Television via AP)
The situation is lamentable because the only party to benefit is the government. United States savings bonds, notes Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), are “not like a regular bond where you get quarterly interest payments. You give your money to the Federal Government. The Federal Government takes your name and address. You get a piece of paper. And at the end of however long of a bond you buy — say, 20 years — you get back your principal, plus interest.”
More than six years ago, Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS), a former Kansas state treasurer, introduced legislation to help reconnect savings bond holders and other rightful claimants. His proposal directed the Treasury to transfer data on who owned what unclaimed bonds to states, which would then use their unclaimed property processes to locate bondholders. When the bondholder or rightful claimant cannot be found, a state can pocket the funds.
The bill stalled, but Congress did appropriate $50 million over two years to fund the Treasury’s effort to digitize its old bond records, which would help connect bonds and bondholders and their heirs.
Undeterred, Estes reintroduced his bill in 2021, which garnered 36 cosponsors. Kennedy introduced companion legislation in the Senate, which 29 other senators supported. Republicans and Democrats alike supported the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021, but it was not voted on in either chamber.
Congress seemed to have solved the matter the next year, when Kennedy added a provision to a larger piece of legislation that directed the Secretary of the …
Congress attempts a $39 billion return to the public
Are they actually going to vote on something real?
Americans are owed $39.2 billion by the federal government, according to a Treasury Department tabulation. These funds are in the form of mature, unredeemed savings bonds that individuals bought but have not claimed.
Most of these bonds date to the 1980s, when investors eagerly snatched up bonds carrying annual interest rates topping out at 9%. But some were issued as far back as World War II.
Individuals do not claim bonds for a host of reasons. In some instances, they simply forget because the bond may not be redeemed for 10, 20, or even 30 years. In other cases, the bond owner may have misplaced their paper certificate and not realized they can still get their payout. Other bondholders have died before cashing in, and their heirs are unaware that they are entitled to stake a claim.
Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS) speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives at the Capitol in Washington on April 23, 2020. (House Television via AP)
The situation is lamentable because the only party to benefit is the government. United States savings bonds, notes Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), are “not like a regular bond where you get quarterly interest payments. You give your money to the Federal Government. The Federal Government takes your name and address. You get a piece of paper. And at the end of however long of a bond you buy — say, 20 years — you get back your principal, plus interest.”
More than six years ago, Rep. Ron Estes (R-KS), a former Kansas state treasurer, introduced legislation to help reconnect savings bond holders and other rightful claimants. His proposal directed the Treasury to transfer data on who owned what unclaimed bonds to states, which would then use their unclaimed property processes to locate bondholders. When the bondholder or rightful claimant cannot be found, a state can pocket the funds.
The bill stalled, but Congress did appropriate $50 million over two years to fund the Treasury’s effort to digitize its old bond records, which would help connect bonds and bondholders and their heirs.
Undeterred, Estes reintroduced his bill in 2021, which garnered 36 cosponsors. Kennedy introduced companion legislation in the Senate, which 29 other senators supported. Republicans and Democrats alike supported the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021, but it was not voted on in either chamber.
Congress seemed to have solved the matter the next year, when Kennedy added a provision to a larger piece of legislation that directed the Secretary of the …
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