What This Bill Does
This bill allows the President to loan or lease military equipment and supplies to Taiwan's government to help Taiwan defend itself against potential military attacks from China's People's Liberation Army. The bill also requires the President to establish faster procedures for delivering this military equipment and to report to Congress on which defense items Taiwan needs most.
Who It Affects
The President of the United States and officials the President appoints with Senate approval. Taiwan's government. Congress (who receives reports). The Secretary of Defense and the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command.
Key Provisions
• The President can loan or lease military equipment to Taiwan if Taiwan's government agrees to pay for repairs if equipment gets damaged or pays the replacement cost if equipment is lost or destroyed (Sec. 2(a)(1)).
• The President can finance Taiwan's purchase of military services and construction services related to defense, requiring Taiwan to repay the United States within 12 years plus interest (Sec. 2(a)(3)).
• The President must set up faster delivery procedures for any military equipment loaned or leased to Taiwan within 60 days of this bill becoming law (Sec. 2(c)).
• The Secretary of Defense must report to Congress within 90 days on which military equipment is appropriate to loan or lease to Taiwan, what supply chain challenges exist, and expected delivery timelines (Sec. 2(d)).
• The President can only delegate this loaning and leasing authority to officials who were appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate (Sec. 2(b)).
What Changes
The bill removes restrictions from two existing federal laws that previously limited loaning or leasing military equipment to Taiwan. This allows the President to provide Taiwan with military equipment for defense purposes, with Taiwan paying for any damages or losses. The government must establish faster delivery procedures and give Congress reports on Taiwan's defense needs.
Important Definitions
The bill uses three terms defined in existing federal law: "defense article" (military equipment), "defense service" (military assistance), and "design and construction services" (building military infrastructure). The bill does not provide plain language definitions of these terms.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 770
To provide for the loan and lease of defense articles to the Government
of Taiwan, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 9, 2023
Mrs. BLACKBURN (for herself, Mr. SCOTT of Florida, and Mr. RUBIO) intro-
duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Relations
A BILL
To provide for the loan and lease of defense articles to
the Government of Taiwan, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Democracy
4
Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2023’’.
5
SEC. 2. LOAN AND LEASE OF DEFENSE ARTICLES TO GOV-
6
ERNMENT OF TAIWAN.
7
(a) AUTHORITY TO LEND OR LEASE DEFENSE ARTI-
8
CLES TO GOVERNMENT OF TAIWAN.—
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•S 770 IS
(1)
AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding
section
1
503(b)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22
2
U.S.C. 2311(b)(3)) or section 61 of the Arms Ex-
3
port Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2796), the President
4
may lend or lease defense articles to the Government
5
of Taiwan to assist in the bolstering of the defensive
6
capabilities of such Government or the protection of
7
the citizen population of Taiwan from potential ag-
8
gression carried out by the People’s Liberation Army
9
of China against Taiwan (including through one or
10
more of the means described in paragraph (2)) if, as
11
a condition of such loan or lease, the President re-
12
quires—
13
(A) the payment by the Government of
14
Taiwan of the cost of restoring or replacing the
15
defense article, in the case that the defense ar-
16
ticle is damaged; and
17
(B) the payment by the Government of
18
Taiwan of an amount equal to the replacement
19
cost (less any depreciation in the value) of the
20
defense article, in the case that the defense ar-
21
ticle is lost or destroyed.
22
(2) MEANS OF AGGRESSION BY PEOPLE’S LIB-
23
ERATION ARMY.—The means described in this para-
24
graph are the following:
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•S 770 IS
(A) The full or partial naval blockade of
1
Taiwan.
2
(B) An amphibious assault and ground in-
3
vasion of Taiwan.
4
(C) A missile strike (whether conducted
5
alone or as a part of a broader campaign).
6
(D) Kinetic or non-kinetic operations
7
against military targets or critical infrastruc-
8
ture in Taiwan.
9
(E) A seizure, or attempted seizure, of one
10
or more of the outlying islands controlled by
11
Taiwan.
12
(3) DEFENSE
SERVICES
AND
DEFENSE
CON-
13
STRUCTION SERVICES.—
14
(A) IN GENERAL.—The President may fi-
15
nance the procurement of defense services and
16
design and construction services by the Govern-
17
ment of Taiwan in connection with a loan or
18
lease of a defense article to such Government
19
under paragraph (1), if, as a condition of such
20
financing, the President requires that, not later
21
than 12 years after the date on which the
22
agreement with the Government of Taiwan for
23
such financing is signed on behalf of the United
24
States Government, the Government of Taiwan
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•S 770 IS
pay to the United States Government (in
1
United States dollars) an amount equal to the
2
sum of—
3
(i) the value of such services; and
4
(ii) any interest on the unpaid balance
5
of the obligation for payment under clause
6
(i), at a rate that, except as provided in
7
subparagraph (B), is equivalent to the av-
8
erage interest rate, as of the last day of
9
the month preceding the date on which
10
such agreement is signed, that the United
11
States Government pays on outstanding
12
marketable obligations of comparable ma-
13
turity.
14
(B) EXCEPTION TO INTEREST RATE RE-
15
QUIREMENT.—If the President submits to Con-
16
gress a certification containing a determination
17
that national security requires a lesser rate of
18
interest than the rate calculated pursuant to
19
clause (ii) of subparagraph (A), a justification
20
for such determination, and an identification of
21
such lesser rate, the lesser rate so identified
22
shall apply in lieu of the rate calculated pursu-
23
ant to such clause.
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•S 770 IS
(b) DELEGATION
OF AUTHORITY.—The President
1
may delegate the authority under subsection (a) only to
2
an official appointed by the President by and with the ad-
3
vice and consent of the Senate.
4
(c) PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY OF DEFENSE ARTI-
5
CLES.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact-
6
ment of this Act, the President shall establish expedited
7
procedures for the delivery of any defense article loaned
8
or leased to the Government of Taiwan under subsection
9
(a) to ensure the timely delivery of the defense article to
10
such Government.
11
(d) REPORT
ON
DETERMINATION
OF
DEFENSE
12
NEEDS OF TAIWAN.—
13
(1) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the
14
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
15
Defense, in collaboration with the Commander of the
16
United States Indo-Pacific Command, shall submit
17
to Congress a report on the potential loan and lease
18
of defense articles to the Government of Taiwan
19
under subsection (a). The report shall include the
20
following elements:
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(A) An initial assessment of the defense
22
articles that are appropriate for such loan or
23
lease.
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•S 770 IS
(B) An assessment of any supply chain or
1
other logistical challenges associated with the
2
loan or lease of defense articles identified pur-
3
suant to subparagraph (A).
4
(C) A discussion of expected timeframes
5
for the provision to the Government of Taiwan
6
of defense articles identified pursuant to sub-
7
paragraph (A), including—
8
(i) expected timelines for the delivery
9
of such defense articles; and
10
(ii) expected timelines for the full in-
11
tegration of such defense articles by the
12
military of Taiwan, such that the military
13
of Taiwan is able to effectively use defense
14
articles so delivered in the event of a con-
15
flict with the People’s Republic of China.
16
(D) Such other matters as the Secretary
17
may consider appropriate.
18
(2) FORM.—The report under paragraph (1)
19
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in-
20
clude a classified annex.
21
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘de-
22
fense article’’, ‘‘defense service’’, and ‘‘design and con-
23
struction services’’ have the meanings given those terms
24
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•S 770 IS
in section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C.
1
2794).
2
Æ
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