U.S. Reps. Ron Estes (R-KS) and Darin LaHood (R-IL) on Nov. 26 offered bipartisan legislation that would allow states to find the rightful owners and heirs of unclaimed, matured savings bonds.
Rep. Estes sponsored the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2019, H.R. 5269, with bill cosponsor Rep. LaHood to require the U.S. Treasury Department to transfer all records and ownership of the bonds to states, which could claim the proceeds if no owners and/or heirs were found following a court judgment. U.S. Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL) and five other members also cosponsored the bill.
“For decades, the federal Treasury Department 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,” Rep. Estes said. “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.”
According to information provided by the lawmakers’ offices, there are more than $26 billion worth of matured, unclaimed U.S. Savings Bonds sitting at the Treasury Department, which hasn’t contacted the owners of the unredeemed bonds, even when they have matured and were payable.
Recently, states like Kansas have initiated litigation to obtain the records from the Treasury Department, according to the information.
“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.”
U.S. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) in August introduced the same-named bill, S. 2417, with original cosponsors U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA).