31 USC 1322 – Payments of unclaimed trust fund amounts and refund of amounts erroneously deposited
(a) On September 30 of each year, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer to the Treasury trust fund receipt account “Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts are Unknown” that part of the balance of a trust fund account named in section 1321(a)(1)-(82) of this title or an analogous trust fund established under section 1321(b) of this title that has been in the fund for more than one year and represents money belonging to individuals whose whereabouts are unknown. Subsequent claims to the transferred funds shall be paid from the account “Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts are Unknown”.
Terms Used In 31 USC 1322
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- State: means a State, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 1 USC 7
- Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
(b) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, necessary amounts are appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments from—
(1) the Treasury trust fund receipt account “Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts are Unknown”; and
(2) the United States Government account “Refund of Moneys Erroneously Received and Covered” and other collections erroneously deposited that are not properly chargeable to another appropriation.
(c)(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall hold in the Treasury trust fund receipt account “Unclaimed Moneys of Individuals Whose Whereabouts Are Unknown” the balance remaining after the final distribution of unclaimed Postal Savings System deposits under subsection (a) of the first section of the Act of August 13, 1971 (Public Law 92-117; 85 Stat. 337). The Secretary shall use the balance to pay claims for Postal Savings System deposits without regard to the State law or the law of other jurisdictions of deposit concerning the disposition of unclaimed or abandoned property.
(2) Necessary amounts may be appropriated without fiscal year limitation to the trust fund receipt account to pay claims for deposits when the balance in the account is not sufficient to pay the claims made within the time limitation set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(3) No claim for any Postal Savings System deposit may be brought more than one year from the date of the enactment of the Postal Savings System Statute of Limitations Act.
(4) The United States Postal Service shall assist the Secretary of the Treasury in providing public notice of the time limitation set forth in paragraph (3) of this subsection by posting notices thereof in all post offices as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of the Postal Savings System Statute of Limitations Act.