Print |
E-mail to a friend
NEWS BRIEFS
W.Va. treasurer seeks searchable database for bonds
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia’s state treasurer is urging Congress to make it easier to put $16.7 billion worth of matured savings bonds into the rightful owners’ hands.
John Perdue says the names and addresses of the bondholders are on 5 billion microfilm issuance records that are not indexed, making them difficult to access.
He and other state treasurers are encouraging Congress to support a bill introduced by U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller that would require the U.S. Bureau of Public Debt to convert the records into a searchable format.
Perdue estimates $114 million worth of unclaimed savings bonds are owed to West Virginia residents and their heirs.
Most of the unclaimed bonds were Series E bonds first issued in 1941 to help finance the war.
