(a) With the approval of the President, the Secretary of the Treasury may issue savings bonds and savings certificates of the United States Government and may buy, redeem, and make refunds under section 3111 of this title. Proceeds from the bonds and certificates shall be used for expenditures authorized by law. Savings bonds and certificates may be issued on an interest-bearing basis, on a discount basis, or on an interest-bearing and discount basis. Savings bonds shall mature not more than 20 years from the date of issue. Savings certificates shall mature not more than 10 years from the date of issue. The difference between the price paid and the amount received on redeeming a savings bond or certificate is interest under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).

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(b)(1) The Secretary may—

(A) fix the investment yield for savings bonds; and

(B) change the investment yield on an outstanding savings bond, except that the yield on a bond for the period held may not be decreased below the minimum yield for the period guaranteed on the date of issue.

(2) The Secretary may prescribe regulations providing that—

(A) owners of savings bonds may keep the bonds after maturity or after a period beyond maturity during which the bonds have earned interest and continue to earn interest at rates consistent with paragraph (1) of this subsection; and

(B) savings bonds earning a different rate of interest before the regulations are prescribed shall earn a rate of interest consistent with paragraph (1).

(c) The Secretary may prescribe for savings bonds and savings certificates issued under this section—

(1) the form and amount of an issue and series;

(2) the way in which they will be issued;

(3) the conditions, including restrictions on transfer, to which they will be subject;

(4) conditions governing their redemption;

(5) their sales price and denominations;

(6) a way to evidence payments for or on account of them and to provide for the exchange of savings certificates for savings bonds; and

(7) the maximum amount issued in a year that may be held by one person.

(d) The Secretary may authorize financial institutions to make payments to redeem savings bonds and savings notes. A financial institution may be a paying agent only if the institution—

(1) is incorporated under the laws of the United States, a State, the District of Columbia, or a territory or possession of the United States;

(2) in the usual course of business accepts, subject to withdrawal, money for deposit or the purchase of shares;

(3) is under the supervision of a banking authority of the jurisdiction in which it is incorporated;

(4) has a regular office to do business; and

(5) is qualified under regulations prescribed by the Secretary in carrying out this subsection.

(e)(1) The Secretary may prescribe a way in which a check issued to an individual (except a trust or estate) as a refund for taxes imposed under subtitle A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. 1 et seq.) may become a series E savings bond. However, a check may become a bond only if the claim for a refund is filed by the last day prescribed by law for filing the return (determined without any extensions) for the taxable year for which the refund is made. The Secretary may prescribe the time and way in which the check becomes a bond.

(2) A bond issued under this subsection is deemed to be a series E bond issued under this section, except that the bond shall bear an issue date of the first day of the first month beginning after the close of the taxable year for which the bond is issued. The Secretary also may provide that a bond issued to joint payees may be redeemed by either payee alone.

(f)(1)(A) The Secretary shall provide each State, in digital or other electronic form, with information describing any applicable savings bond which has an applicable address that is within such State, including—

(i) the name and applicable address of the registered owner; and

(ii) the name and applicable address of any registered co-owner or beneficiary.

(B) The information provided under subparagraph (A) may include the serial number of any applicable savings bond.

(C)(i) For purposes of this paragraph, the term “applicable address” means, with respect to any applicable savings bond—

(I) the registered address for the registered owner, co-owner, or beneficiary (as applicable) of such bond; or

(II) if such information is available to the Secretary, the last known address for the registered owner, co-owner, or beneficiary (as applicable) of such bond.

(ii) For purposes of clause (i), if the information described in subclause (II) of clause (i) with respect to any individual is available to the Secretary, subclause (I) of such clause shall not apply.

(2)(A) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall prescribe such regulations or other guidance as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this subsection, including rules to—

(i) protect the privacy of the owners of applicable savings bonds;

(ii) prevent fraud; and

(iii) ensure that any information provided to a State under this subsection shall be used solely to carry out the purposes of this subsection.

(B) Except as deemed necessary to protect privacy or prevent fraud or misuse of savings bond information, any regulations or guidance prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall not have the effect of prohibiting, restricting, or otherwise preventing a State from obtaining all information described in paragraph (1)(A).

(3) Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this subsection, and annually thereafter for each year during the 5-year period beginning after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Finance of the Senate a report assessing all efforts to satisfy the requirement under paragraph (1)(A).

(4) Any State that receives information described in paragraph (1)(A) with respect to an applicable savings bond may use such information to locate the owner of such bond pursuant to the same standards and requirements as are applicable under—

(A) the abandoned property rules and regulations of such State; and

(B) any regulations or guidance promulgated under this subsection.

(5) For purposes of this subsection, the Secretary may disclose to the public any information with respect to any applicable savings bond which a State may disclose to the public pursuant to paragraph (4).

(6) For purposes of this subsection, the term “applicable savings bond” means a savings bond which—

(A) is more than 3 years past its date of final maturity;

(B)(i) is in paper form; or

(ii) is in paperless or electronic form and for which—

(I) there is no designated bank account or routing information; or

(II) the designated bank account or routing information is incorrect; and

(C) has not been redeemed.