WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., urged state treasurers to take action to help Americans reclaim billions of dollars in mature, unredeemed U.S. savings bonds that are currently held by the federal government.
Speaking on the U.S. Senate floor, Kennedy said the U.S. Treasury holds approximately 100 million unredeemed savings bonds with a total value of $36.27 billion. The bonds are no longer earning interest, and many owners are unaware the funds exist.
“Right now, over in the United States Department of Treasury, there are 100 million unredeemed savings bonds—money that belongs to the American people—and it’s no longer earning interest,” Kennedy said. “The money’s just sitting there, and the federal government’s using it, and they’re not paying people interest.”
Kennedy said many of the bonds remain unclaimed because owners have died or forgotten about them. He noted that Treasury officials previously cited non-digitized records as a barrier to returning the funds.
In 2023, Kennedy sponsored legislation requiring the Treasury Department to digitize records related to unclaimed savings bonds and create a searchable database. That measure passed and was signed into law as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023.
“We are ready to turn the names and addresses and serial numbers over to the treasurer of every state,” Kennedy said. “So they can contact people in their state and say, ‘The federal government has your money, and we want to get it back to you.’”
Under the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021, authored by Kennedy, Treasury is required to share ownership information with state officials so the bonds can be incorporated into state unclaimed property programs. Kennedy said the remaining step is for state treasurers to sign a user agreement with the Treasury Department to receive the data.
“What now we have to do is get the state treasurers to sign an agreement with the U.S. Department of Treasury to cooperate,” Kennedy said. “And Treasury will send them the names, and we can start returning this money to people.”
Kennedy said he plans to send additional letters to state treasurers urging them to finalize the agreements. In November 2025, he sent a letter to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators and the National Association of State Treasurers calling on states to act.
Before joining the U.S. Senate, Kennedy served as Louisiana state treasurer for 17 years, overseeing the state’s unclaimed property program. During that time, he said the program returned approximately $400 million to Louisiana residents.