BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - Louisiana's U.S. Sen. John Kennedy says the federal Treasury Department will expand its work to pay out nearly $26 billion in unclaimed savings bonds.

  

The Republican senator pressed the federal agency to do more to get people the money that belongs to them. That includes about $340 million in U.S. savings bonds for people in Louisiana that haven't been paid out.

  

The Advocate reports that a Treasury Department spokesman confirmed the agency intends to create an online tool letting people to check whether they have unredeemed savings bonds dated after 1974.

  

The information also will be shared with state treasurers to promote through Unclaimed Property Program websites.

  

Treasury also has agreed to study how to digitize information on older savings bonds so that information can eventually be shared.