(The Center Square) – Thirty state financial officers sent a letter Thursday to President Donald Trump asking him to sign an Executive Order directing the Treasury to return $39 billion in savings bonds to the rightful owners rather than the government holding onto the funds and treating them as federal assets.
One of the signing officers, Missouri State Treasurer Vivek Malek, told The Center Square: “As America celebrates its 250th anniversary, we have a rare opportunity to honor the generation that invested in our nation’s future by returning billions of dollars in savings bonds to the American families who rightfully own them.”
“President Trump has a unique opportunity to fulfill a promise made decades ago and reaffirm that the United States always honors its obligations,” Malek said.
The alliance of state treasurers, comptrollers, auditors and other financial officers wrote in theirletterthat they urge Trump to “issue an Executive Order that will help reunite Americans and their heirs with matured, unredeemed United States Savings Bonds.”
“Nearly a century ago, millions of Americans entrusted their savings to the United States because they believed in the Republic's future,” the letter said. “Today, Treasury estimates that approximately $39 billion in matured, unredeemed savings bonds remain outstanding.”
“These funds are not, and should not be treated as, federal assets,” the letter said. “They represent private property owed to American families.”
“We recommend that the Order direct Treasury to complete its remaining modernization efforts, expand owner-location and heir-identification programs, and remove Biden regulatory barriers to federal-state cooperation, particularly those governing state escheatment,” the letter said.
CEO of the State Financial Officers Foundation OJ Oleka told The Center Square: "When Americans were asked to step up and contribute to the fight for freedom, the individuals and families who purchased U.S. Savings Bonds did not hesitate.”
“While they may not have been able to fight on the frontlines, they found a way to do their part by purchasing bonds,” Oleka said.
“These 30 state financial officers believe that returning the millions of dollars in unredeemed bonds is the proper way to honor their legacy and the important role these citizens played in allowing our nation to celebrate 250 years of freedom,” Oleka said.
“After all, this is not the government's money,” Oleka said. “These were loans, made in patriotic good faith, and it's time this debt is repaid."
The financial officers’ letter to Trump explained that “the modern United States Savings Bond Program was established in 1935 to encourage thrift and provide Americans with a secure investment backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.”
“During World War II, however, it became far more than a financial program,” the letter continued, explaining how families made investments as an act of patriotism.
“Many of the matured, unredeemed bonds outstanding today trace their origins to the generation that purchased War Bonds and Savings Bonds during some of the most consequential chapters of American history,” the letter said.
Neither the White House Press Office nor the U.S. Department of the Treasury media relations responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.
Signers of the letter hail from 24 different states including Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
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