Should the U.S. Start a Lend-Lease Program to Help Ukraine Defend Itself From Russia’s Invasion & Bolster Eastern European Allies to Deter Further Aggression? (S.3522)

Bill Status

• The Senate passed this bill as amended with a voice vote on April 6, 2022.
• The House passed this bill on a 417-10 vote on April 28, 2022.

What is S. 3522?

This bill — the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 — would temporarily waive requirements on the president’s authority to lend or lease defense articles if they’re intended for Ukraine’s government or the governments of other Eastern European countries affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The governments of Ukraine and affected European countries would be able to use the Lend-Lease program to obtain military equipment and other related supplies to bolster their defensive capabilities and protect civilians from ongoing aggression by Russia or potential invasion, respectively. These waivers would remain in effect for fiscal years 2022 and 2023.

Specifically, the bill would waive provisions of law that typically apply to Lend-Lease agreements, including those that generally prohibit the use of loans with repayment periods longer than five years; and which require receiving countries to pay all costs incurred by the U.S. in leasing the defense equipment. Any loan or lease of defense articles to Ukraine would be subject to applicable laws concerning the return of and reimbursement and repayment for defense articles loaned or leased to foreign governments.

Additionally, the bill would require the president to establish expedited procedures within 60 days to ensure the timely delivery of defense articles loaned or leased under this bill.

Argument in favor

This bipartisan bill would create a Lend-Lease program that would bypass certain requirements to help Ukraine quickly access the military equipment its armed forces need to defeat Russia’s invasion and secure Ukraine’s democracy and independence. It would also deter Russia from further aggression by allowing U.S. allies in Eastern European to use the Lend-Lease program to bolster their own defenses. The Lend-Lease program under this bill gives Ukraine the best chance of defeating Russia’s aggression and deterring Putin from expanding the war to NATO allies in Eastern European.

Argument opposed 

While it may be bipartisan, creating a Lend-Lease program to provide military equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European partners is a step above what the U.S. has been doing to support those countries against Russian aggression. That could prompt Russia to widen the conflict. Given the ongoing U.S. support for Ukraine and other countries, Lend-Lease may not provide a bigger benefit and could risk worsening the situation by leading to the war’s expansion.

Impact 

The government of Ukraine and its military; governments of Eastern European countries affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and their militaries; the Dept. of Defense; U.S. defense industries; and the president.

Cost 

The CBO doesn’t have a sufficient basis to estimate this bill’s effects on federal spending because it doesn’t have enough information about how the administration would use authorities under the bill.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced this bill to authorize a Lend-Lease program to provide military equipment to Ukraine and other Eastern European countries affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He offered the following statement after it unanimously passed the Senate:

“How we address a threat against one democracy’s sovereignty sends a message about how we’ll act on others, and adversaries like China are watching. If we believe America supports freedom and democracy, we must provide Ukraine with the weapons necessary to protect its citizens, and I urge the House to pass this legislation as soon as possible lest our promises to our allies ring hollow.”

Original cosponsor Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) added:

“We introduced this measure in January as part of a broad campaign to deter Russia from making a terrible mistake, which the Kremlin has nevertheless now done. This horrific, unnecessary, and unprovoked war against Ukraine has to end - with Ukraine prevailing against Russia’s aggression. Our bipartisan bill streamlines the president’s ability to bolster Ukraine’s defenses, defend innocent civilians and also to protect our frontline NATO allies who may become targets of a desperate Vladimir Putin.”

The Senate passed this bill on a voice vote on April 6th with the support of 21 bipartisan cosponsors, including 14 Republicans, six Democrats, and one Independent (Sen. Angus King of Maine).

Of Note: Lend-Lease played a major role in aiding the Allied war effort against Germany, Italy, and Japan both before and after the U.S. entered World War II in December 1941. It helped the Allies wage war against Germany and in the process jump-started the U.S. defense industrial base prior to America’s entry into the war.

The U.S. pursued a policy of isolationism and non-interventionism through much of the 1930s and remained neutral after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, an act that prompted Britain and France to enter the war against Germany. When war erupted in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt began to work with Congress to gradually roll back various neutrality laws that restricted U.S. defense exports.

This initially began as a “cash and carry” program in which Britain would pay the U.S. in cash and gold for defense articles and also take responsibility for transporting them across the Atlantic. There was also a Destroyers for Bases Agreement of 1940 in which 50 U.S. Navy were transferred to Britain and Canada in exchange for basing rights in the Caribbean and Newfoundland, Canada. As Britain’s liquid currency assets dwindled and the war raged on, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill continued to lobby FDR for more aid and pleaded, “Give us the tools and we’ll finish the job.”

During the Battle of Britain in September 1940, Britain sent the Tizard Mission to initiate a technology-sharing program with the U.S. because Britain’s domestic industrial resources were already fully committed to its wartime mobilization and America’s industrial capacity was still revving up. The sharing included key technology for radar, a jet engine design, fuzes, gunsights, rockets, plastic explosives, and a memorandum on the feasibility of an atomic bomb.  

As WWII entered its second year, U.S. public opinion shifted to support more aid to the Allies and Roosevelt made his famous declaration that the U.S. would become the “Arsenal of Democracy” in December 1940. FDR signed Lend-Lease into law in March 1941 after it passed Congress despite opposition by isolationist lawmakers. As Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during debate on the bill, it was clearly viewed as a means of helping America’s ally stay in the fight while the U.S. began to mobilize its military might if the country was drawn into the war directly:

“We are buying… not lending. We are buying our own security while we prepare. By our delay during the past six years, while Germany was preparing, we find ourselves unprepared and unarmed, facing a thoroughly prepared and armed potential enemy.”

While Lend-Lease initially applied to the United Kingdom, the British Commonwealth, and Free France, it quickly expanded to the Republic of China in April, and later to the Soviet Union in October. It continued after December 1941 when the U.S. entered the war following Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

Lend-Lease included the provision of warships, warplanes, weaponry, food, medicine, and other equipment and supplies. A total of $50.1 billion (roughly $690 billion in 2020 dollars) worth of supplies were shipped to three dozen countries under Lend-Lease, accounting for roughly 17% of all U.S. wartime expenditures. The largest recipients were Britain and its Commonwealth with $31.3 billion; the Soviet Union with $10.9 billion; France with $3.2 billion; and the Republic of China with $1.6 billion. Britain and its Commonwealth also provided Reverse Lend-Lease and supplied the U.S. with nearly $8 billion in war material.

Tell your reps how to vote on this bill!

Media:

• Sponsoring Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) Press Release
• Sponsoring Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) Press Release (Introduction)
• Sponsoring Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) Press Release (Senate Passage)
• CBO Cost Estimate
• Causes
• Bill Text (Amended) - Congress.gov

Summary by Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Austin Fraley via DVIDSHUB / Public Domain)