Reunite savings bonds with owners
Published 6:00 pm Friday, October 4, 2019
Pressure from elected officials can sometimes light the fire needed to get things done quicker than anticipated.
Thanks to a push from U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, the U.S. Treasury Department announced this week it is going to set up an online system so people can find out if they have unclaimed savings bonds. With the system, people will be able to confirm savings bonds dated after 1974 that can be redeemed.
This effort is familiar territory for the Louisiana senator. During his 17-year stint as Louisiana’s state treasurer, he helped residents get money back through an unclaimed property fund. Kennedy said 600,000 people statewide got more than $400 million in unclaimed property.
Just like he did as treasurer, Kennedy focused on getting the treasury department to ramp up efforts to pay out $26 billion in unclaimed savings bonds. Of that amount, Louisiana residents make up roughly $340 million of the savings bonds.
Kennedy and fellow U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy have proposed a measure that would let states acquire records on those who own unclaimed savings bonds sitting in the treasury. It would put information about the bondholders, including names and addresses, into existing databases on unclaimed property.
Kennedy typically doesn’t mince words on any political topic, and this one was no exception. He told The Advocate last month that the treasury department’s unwillingness to disclose specific information needed to claim the savings bonds was “a disgrace.”
“They should hide their heads in a bag,” he added.
Some savings bonds may have been forgotten about over time, or the paper bonds were lost. Those who don’t have the bonds’ serial numbers or issue dates can’t cash them. What’s worse, Kennedy said during a speech on the Senate floor, is the U.S. Treasury Department has all that information.
It shouldn’t have taken this kind of pressure for the treasury department to move forward with helping people redeem decades-old savings bonds.
Like Kennedy has said, that money “belongs to the American people.” It’s time for them to get it back.
