Unredeemed U.S. Savings Bond Return Act of 2006 - Instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to prescribe regulations authorizing states to enter into owner location and claims agreements with the Secretary in order to: (1) locate owners of specified unredeemed savings bonds; (2) identify such owners; and (3) process and verify claims for the redemption of such savings bonds.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5984 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5984
To establish a program to reunite bondholders with matured unredeemed
Federal savings bonds.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 28, 2006
Mr. Camp introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a program to reunite bondholders with matured unredeemed
Federal savings bonds.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Unredeemed U.S. Savings Bond Return
Act of 2006''.
SEC. 2. PROGRAM TO REUNITE BONDHOLDERS WITH MATURED UNREDEEMED FEDERAL
SAVINGS BONDS.
(a) Owner Location and Claims.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
prescribe regulations providing that States may enter into
owner location and claims agreements with the Secretary for the
purposes of locating owners of specified unredeemed savings
bonds, identifying such owners to the Secretary, and processing
and verifying claims for the redemption of such savings bonds.
Such regulations shall provide 1 year (beginning with the date
of publication of such regulations) for the agency with
responsibility for administration of unclaimed property to
enter into an owner location and claims agreement with the
Secretary. If no such agreement is entered into during such
year, such agency or the chief executive of the State shall
have 6 months (beginning at the end of such 1-year period) to
enter into such an agreement with the Secretary. If, at the end
of such 6-month period, no agreement has been entered into, the
Secretary shall conduct owner location and claims processing
with respect to such State.
(2) Owner location and claims agreements.--Each owner
location and claims agreement shall be substantially the same
for each State and shall provide for the following with respect
to specified unredeemed savings bonds assigned for processing
to such State:
(A) Provision of records to states.--The Secretary
shall provide the State or its representative such
records with respect to such bonds as the Secretary
determines are necessary or appropriate to carry out
the purposes of this section.
(B) Written notification to bondholders of
record.--The State or its representative shall mail to
each owner of record of such a bond, with respect to
whom an address suitable for the delivery of mail is
determined under subsection (b), a written notification
regarding the existence of such bond and that such bond
is no longer earning interest.
(C) Additional notification efforts;
restrictions.--The State or its representative shall
make such additional efforts to locate the owners of
such bonds as the Secretary may provide. The Secretary
may provide for such restrictions on efforts utilized
to locate such owners as the Secretary determines
appropriate, including any restrictions on the use of
commercial locator services.
(D) Claims processing and verification.--The State
or its representative shall receive, process, and
verify claims for such bonds and shall transmit to the
Secretary verified claims.
(E) Reunification payments to states.--Subject to
the limitation of subsection (c)(4)(B), the Secretary
shall direct the Federal depositary referred to in
subsection (c) to pay the State a fee each month equal
to 25 percent of the amount paid under subsection
(c)(3) during the preceding month with respect to bonds
verified by such State. Any fee otherwise payable under
this subparagraph shall be reduced by the amount of any
payment made under subparagraph (F).
(F) Advance payment of state administrative
costs.--Subject to the limitation of subsection
(c)(4)(B), the Secretary shall, upon request from the
State, direct the Federal depositary referred to in
subsection (c) to pay the State such amount as the
Secretary determines reasonable for the estimated cost
of the State to carry out activities pursuant to this
subsection. The aggregate amount paid to the State
under this subparagraph may not exceed 5 percent of the
aggregate amount which would be paid from the
redemption account if all the specified unredeemed
savings bonds assigned to the State were redeemed.
(b) Examination of Bond Records; Establishment of Database.--Not
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary shall enter into a cooperative agreement (within the meaning
of section 6305 of title 31, United States Code) with the State
coordinator which provides for the following with respect to the
specified unredeemed savings bonds:
(1) Access to bond records.--The Secretary shall provide
the State coordinator with full access to records related to
such bonds.
(2) Compilation of information.--The State coordinator
shall compile relevant information with respect to such bonds
and make the results of such compilation available to the
Secretary for the Secretary's review and concurrence.
(3) Assignment of bonds to states for processing.--The
State coordinator shall make a recommendation to the Secretary
regarding to which State each bond should be assigned for
processing under subsection (a). Such recommendation shall be
based on the registered owner's address of record as determined
in accordance with Government Auditing Standards for relevance,
competence, and sufficiency. The Secretary shall make the final
determination regarding the State to which each bond is
assigned for processing after taking into account the
recommendation of the State coordinator. Such determination by
the Secretary shall be conclusive and shall not be subject to
judicial review.
(4) Searchable database.--After the Secretary concurs with
the information compiled under paragraph (2), the State
coordinator shall establish a searchable database which
includes such information with respect to each bond and the
State to which each bond is assigned for processing. The State
coordinator shall update the information contained in such
database (including information indicating which bonds have
been redeemed) in such manner as the Secretary may provide.
(c) Agreement With Federal Depositary.--Not later than 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall enter
into an agreement with a Federal depositary which provides for the
following:
(1) Transfer of funds.--The Secretary shall transfer to the
Federal depositary the excess of--
(A) the aggregate amount payable upon redemption of
each specified unredeemed savings bond, over
(B) the amount of tax withheld under subsection (d)
with respect to such bond.
(2) Separate account; investment of funds.--The Federal
depositary shall establish and maintain a separate account (the
reunification account) which shall consist of amounts
transferred under paragraph (1) and any earnings thereon. The
Federal depositary shall invest amounts in such account in
accordance with such standards as may be specified by the
Secretary.
(3) Payments on redeemed bonds.--The Secretary shall notify
the Federal depositary of any redemption of a specified
unredeemed savings bond. The Federal depositary shall, promptly
after notification by the Secretary, make the appropriate
payment from the redemption account with respect to such
redemption as directed by the Secretary and notify the State
coordinator that such bond has been redeemed. The amount of any
payment under this paragraph with respect to the redemption of
any bond (determined without regard to this sentence) shall be
reduced by the amount of the tax withheld under subsection (d)
with respect to such bond.
(4) Use of earnings for administrative expenses, etc.--
(A) In general.--The Federal depositary shall make
the following payments as directed by the Secretary:
(i) Fees of federal depositary.--Payment of
reasonable fees of the Federal depositary for
services provided by the Federal depositary.
(ii) Expense of bond examination, etc.--
Payment to the State coordinator designated
under subsection (b) for reasonable costs in
carrying out such subsection.
(iii) Reunification payments to states.--
Payment of the administrative and reunification
payments described in subparagraphs (E) and (F)
of subsection (a)(2).
(iv) Administrative costs of treasury.--
Payment to the Secretary, not in excess of
$5,000,000 for any fiscal year, for the
administrative costs of the Department of the
Treasury in carrying out this Act.
(v) Account excess transferred to general
fund.--Payment to the general fund of the
Treasury of such amounts as the Secretary
determines, from time to time, are in excess of
those necessary to provide for the payments
from the reunification account which are
required under this Act (other than this
clause).
(B) Administrative costs limited to reunification
account earnings.--No payment may be made under
subparagraph (A) if such payment would result in the
balance of the reunification account being less than
the excess of--
(i) the aggregate amounts transferred under
paragraph (1), over
(ii) the aggregate payments made from such
account under paragraph (3).
(d) Withholding of Tax on Unclaimed Interest.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall deduct and withhold
from any amount transferred under subsection (c)(1) with
respect to any bond a tax in an amount equal to 33 percent of
the amount which, if such bond were redeemed, would constitute
interest.
(2) Treatment in same manner as wage withholding.--Except
as otherwise provided by the Secretary, for purposes of section
3403 and 3404 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and for
purposes of so much of subtitle F of such Code (except section
7205 of such Code ) as relates to chapter 24 of such Code,
payments to any person under subsection (c)(3) with respect to
any bond subject to withholding under this subsection shall be
treated as if such payments were wages paid by an employer to
an employee.
(e) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall annually report to the
Congress regarding the program established under this section. Such
report shall include a description of the actions taken under this
section and the amount and number of bonds redeemed pursuant to the
program during the preceding fiscal year. The report for fiscal year
2016 shall include the recommendations of the Secretary regarding the
steps which should be taken with respect to any specified unredeemed
savings bonds still outstanding and the balance of the reunification
account.
(f) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
(1) Reunification account.--The term ``reunification
account'' means the account established under subsection
(c)(2).
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Treasury.
(3) Specified unredeemed savings bonds.--The term
``specified unredeemed savings bond'' means each outstanding
series E bond, except that such bond shall not be treated as a
specified unredeemed savings bond until the later of--
(A) the end of the 1-year period beginning on the
date that such bond ceases to accrue interest, or
(B) the date of the enactment of this Act.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' includes the District of
Columbia and any territory or possession of the United States.
(5) State coordinator.--The term ``State coordinator''
means the eligible entity which is determined by the Secretary,
after consultation with the States, to be best suited to carry
out the activities described in subsection (b). For purposes of
the preceding sentence, the term ``eligible entity'' means any
State (including any representative of a State) or the National
Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.
(g) Conforming Amendment.--Subsection (b) of section 1324 of title
31, United States Code, is amended by striking ``and'' at the end of
paragraph (1), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and
inserting ``; and'', and by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(3) refunds due from the credit provision of section
2(d)(2) of the Unredeemed U.S. Savings Bond Return Act of
2006.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
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