Public Debt Aids Savings Bond Owners in Louisiana and Mississippi Affected by Recent Severe Weather

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 4, 2012

The Bureau of the Public Debt, announced it would expedite replacement of lost or destroyed paper U.S. Savings Bonds, and waive the normal one-year minimum holding period for savings bonds to assist victims affected by severe storms in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The action takes effect immediately and permits authorized paying agents to redeem Series EE and I savings bonds that are less than one-year old. Most financial institutions serve as paying agents for savings bonds. The one-year holding period for electronic savings bonds held in TreasuryDirect accounts also is waived for owners in the affected areas. Residents in the affected areas will be allowed to redeem these savings bonds through October 2012.

A TreasuryDirect account holder in one of the affected counties who needs a waiver of the one-year holding period in order to redeem electronic savings bonds can send an e-mail from within the account. The e-mail should briefly explain that the account holder is in an area affected by the disaster and needs a waiver of the holding period.

If paper bonds were lost or destroyed, bond owners can complete a downloadable form - FS Form 1048 - available on Fiscal Service's website, treasurydirect.gov. Forms also can be obtained by calling the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Customer Service Department at (844)-284-2676. Bond owners should include as much information as possible about the lost bonds on the form. Claim applications should be signed and signatures should be certified as indicated in the form's instructions. Completed forms can be mailed to the Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, P.O. Box 7012, Parkersburg, WV 26106-7012. To help expedite the processing of claims, write the word "DISASTER" on the front of the envelope.

The parishes and counties affected are:

Louisiana

Ascension, Assumption, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafourche, Livingston, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. Helena, St. James, St. John, St. Mary, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, Washington, and West Feliciana Parishes.

Mississippi

Adams, Amite, Clarke, Forrest, George, Hancock, Harrison, Hinds, Jackson, Lincoln, Marion, Pearl River, Pike, Stone, Walthall, Warren, and Wilkinson Counties.

For a list of the most recent counties affected, visit FEMA's website at www.fema.gov.