WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and more than 30 other senators in urging President Biden not to support the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, which would subject Americans’ Second Amendment rights to international oversight if ratified. 

“We write to you today seeking clarification on your Administration’s position on the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Recent remarks by Deputy Director for Conventional Arms Threat Reduction, William Malzahn, seem to indicate your intention to rejoin this misguided and overbearing international treaty,” the senators wrote.

“At the Seventh Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, Deputy Director Malzahn stated ‘The United States has long supported strong and effective national controls on the international transfer of conventional arms, and the Arms Trade Treaty is an important tool for promoting those controls internationally.’ We find this statement to be most concerning and contrary to the current and historical position of the United States,” explained the senators.

“The vague language of the ATT makes American commitments uncertain, the most concerning of which is the lack of protections for lawful gun ownership which threatens the rights afforded to Americans under the Second Amendment. Further, with an amendment process that only requires a ¾ vote for approval, more intrusive provisions could be applied in the future; legally obligating the United States to comply with international commitments without consent from the Senate,” the senators continued.

“Under any circumstance, it is inconceivable that the United States would consider subjecting our constitutional right to bear arms to international oversight and interference. For these reasons, we request clarification on your intentions regarding this international accord. Moreover, we urge you to reject the ATT; however, should you have plans otherwise, please know we will unequivocally oppose its ratification in the Senate,” they concluded.

The letter is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today introduced the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021 to help Americans claim more than $26 billion in unredeemed savings bonds, including $337 million that belong to the people of Louisiana.

Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and James Risch (R-Idaho) cosponsored the legislation.

“The Treasury is sitting on billions of dollars that should be in Americans’ pockets—including more than $300 million that belong to Louisianians. Louisianians pay their taxes faithfully, and Washington needs to pay out these savings bonds. The Unclaimed Savings Bond Act would make sure states have what they need to get this money to its rightful owners—so they can invest it in what matters most to their families,” said Kennedy.

“Americans are owed billions of dollars by the federal government for unclaimed, matured savings bonds,” said Moran. “This sensible legislation requires the U.S. Treasury to provide states, including Kansas, with the necessary records to locate the rightful owners and heirs of these matured bonds.”

“Treasury currently holds billions of dollars in unclaimed savings bonds that have been forgotten or lost. This money belongs to the people. Our Unclaimed Savings Bond Act would help Americans identify and access their unclaimed savings bonds,” said Young. “I appreciate Indiana Treasurer of State Kelly Mitchell’s support as we work to help Americans get funds that are rightfully theirs.”

“Washington needs to do its job and returns these bonds to their rightful owners,” said Dr. Cassidy. “This bill ensures Louisianians will have access to the $337 million in unredeemed savings they have earned over the years.”

“Over $470 million is owed to Hoosiers in unredeemed U.S. savings bonds, and I’m proud to join Senator Kennedy to help get this money to its rightful owners,” said Braun.

“The federal government is sitting on billions of dollars in unredeemed savings bonds, including at least $1.4 billion belonging to Floridians,” Rubio said. “This legislation would help the State of Florida to identify bond owners, so that these funds can be returned to their rightful owners.” 

The Treasury Department is currently holding more than $26 billion in matured, unredeemed U.S. savings bonds, most of which the Treasury deems lost, stolen, destroyed or “unclaimed.” Many of these bonds were issued more than 70 years ago and have matured—meaning they no longer earn interest for bondholders. 

In cases in which bonds are not physically possessed by their rightful holders, only the Treasury has the names and addresses of the original bond owners. The Treasury also has the serial numbers needed to claim the bond proceeds.  

The Treasury has not taken any significant actions to proactively reunite bonds with their rightful owners despite its relaunch of Treasury Hunt, an online search tool that allows bond owners to locate bond information, at Kennedy’s request. Individual states, however, conduct programs that reconnect their citizens with unclaimed property. 

Kennedy’s bill would require the Treasury to provide states information about matured and unclaimed bonds so these states can use unclaimed property programs to help find the original owners (or heirs of those original owners) of these bonds. This provision would only apply to unredeemed bonds that matured before 2018.

Text of the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act of 2021 is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy today introduced the Seniors Saving on Insulin Act and the Vital Medication Affordability Act to help make insulin and epinephrine more affordable for Louisianians.

“Hundreds of thousands of Louisianians rely on lifesaving medications like insulin and epinephrine, and 12 percent of adults in our state have diabetes. Our people need access to affordable medications, especially when our state is recovering from historic storms. My bills would make insulin more affordable for seniors on Medicare and ensure that key health centers pass along discounts on insulin and epinephrine to patients,” said Kennedy. 

The Seniors Saving on Insulin Act would codify as law the Part D Senior Savings Model, which provides Medicare patients with plans that offer affordable insulin. The bill would ensure that Medicare patients could buy a month’s supply of insulin at no more than $35. One-third of Medicare users have diabetes, and more than 3 million Medicare patients rely on insulin. Research has shown that affordable medications make patients more able to care for their health consistently, which improves health outcomes and lowers health care costs in the long term.  

The Vital Medication Affordability Act would require federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), which serve poor, uninsured and rural residents, to pass along their savings on insulin and epinephrine to their patients. FQHCs can purchase prescription drugs at a discount through the 340B Drug Pricing Program. Kennedy’s legislation would make FQHCs offer these discounts on insulin and epinephrine to many patients who otherwise could not afford these medications.

Text of the Seniors Saving on Insulin Act is available here.

Text of the Vital Medication Affordability Act is available here.

WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today joined Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) in introducing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Accountability Act of 2021 to bring fiscal accountability to the CFPB. The legislation comes as Senate Democrats advanced the nomination of Rohit Chopra to be CFPB Director for final confirmation.

“The bureaucratic state is always trying to increase its power and decrease its accountability to the Americans it’s supposed to serve. CFPB bureaucrats don’t rely on elected officials in Congress for funding—which means the bureau isn’t accountable to American taxpayers in key ways. That needs to change,” said Kennedy.

“Should Democrats choose to confirm President Biden’s radical nominee, who has dodged questions throughout the confirmation process and is likely to continue the anti-job-creation, unaccountable CFPB conduct of the Obama Administration, the CFPB must be required to go through the regular congressional appropriations process to ensure public accountability. As a lifelong businessman, protecting consumers in the financial marketplace is important, but handing vast government regulatory power to an agency that is not accountable to the American people’s elected representatives is improper. Americans deserve to have far greater input in this agency,” said Hagerty.

Currently, the Federal Reserve is responsible for funding the CFPB. This unusual arrangement allows the CFPB to avoid fiscal accountability to elected officials in Congress. This bill would make the CFPB accountable to taxpayers by requiring Congress, not the Federal Reserve, to fund the bureau’s budget.