US Senator Introduces ‘Lend-Lease Act’ For Taiwan

According to media reports, US Senator Marshall Blackburn introduced the “Taiwan Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2023” last week. The bill authorizes the United States to provide a weapons loan program to the government of Taiwan to deter an invasion by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Prior to the introduction of this bill, the US Congress last year passed the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act in support of Ukraine, which was signed into law by President Biden on May 9, 2022. This legislation restarted a lend-lease program that the US had during World War II, allowing the US government to bypass some bureaucratic hurdles to expedite the delivery of weapons to foreign governments.

The Lend-Lease Act of 1941 authorized President Franklin D. Roosevelt to “lease, not sell, war materials to any country deemed essential to the defense of the United States,” including battleships, aircraft, weapons, food, and raw materials. The Taiwan Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act will help strengthen Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities and reinforce the US commitment to preserving freedom around the world. It also aims to protect the people of Taiwan and US citizens residing in Taiwan in the event of an invasion by the CCP.