PRESS RELEASE
Treasurer Fitzpatrick Urges President Trump to Assist in the Return of Unclaimed U.S. Treasury Bonds
Treasurer Fitzpatrick Urges President Trump to Assist in the Return of Unclaimed U.S. Treasury Bonds Jefferson City, MO- Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick
sent a letter to President Trump urging him to assist in the return of nearly
$438 million in matured, abandoned, and unredeemed U.S. Treasury Bonds
purchased by Missourians. A copy of the letter can
be found here. ###
From the 1940s to the 1970s, Americans purchased U.S. savings bonds to support
their country and the ongoing fight for freedom around the world. Nationally,
nearly 60 million savings bonds, worth approximately $23 billion, have never
been redeemed. Now, Treasurer Fitzpatrick is asking that the $438 million in
savings bonds belonging to Missourians and the relevant information necessary
to find their rightful owners be turned over to Missouri’s Unclaimed Property
Division, overseen by the State Treasurer’s Office.
In 2014, Missouri passed necessary legislation and obtained a state court
judgment so that the Unclaimed Property Division could begin the process of
finding the rightful owners or their heirs and returning their money. In order
to do this, the State requires information currently in the possession of the
Treasury—the names and last known addresses of bond owners.
Thus far, despite FOIA requests and legal action, the Treasury Department has
not turned this information over to Missouri or any other state that has
requested it. Further complicating the issue, in 2015, the Obama administration
changed long-standing Treasury policy and no longer honors title-based
escheatment.
Treasurer Fitzpatrick’s letter calls on President Trump to work with Treasury
Secretary Steven Mnuchin to reverse this policy change and work with the states
to honor the government’s commitment to those who proudly invested in their
country.
“With your administration, we have a great opportunity to reverse this failure
on the part of the government, and work with Missouri and other states’
Unclaimed Property officials to successfully find and repay bond owners,”
Fitzpatrick wrote. “It’s time for our country to honor its commitments and
redeem its debt to these patriotic individuals who helped build America and
make it great.”
