Lawmakers voted 417-10 on Thursday to pass S. 3522, the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022, sending it to President Joe Biden's desk after it passed the Senate by voice vote on April 6.
Under the bill, the administration could lend or lease equipment to Ukraine amid its recent invasion by Russia, or other Eastern European allies affected by the invasion, with the nominal promise of later payment — in effect allowing equipment to be donated — and without requiring specific approval by Congress.
"S. 3522 will streamline current legal authorities under the Arms Export Control Act," Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said on the House floor ahead of the vote Thursday. "It allows our government to lend defense articles needed to defend civilian populations. ... [W]e will eliminate red tape to make it easier for our government to lend or lease necessary military equipment in this struggle to defend Ukraine."
Existing law already allows the U.S. to lease equipment to allies in support of national security, but "bureaucratic barriers and other limitations make these authorities impractical for the current crisis facing Ukraine," the bill's Senate sponsors, including Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., said in a statement after it had passed the Senate.
Specifically, the new lend-lease bill would suspend a requirement that loaned equipment must be returned within five years and another that requires reimbursement for related costs, such as depreciation or broken equipment.
It would also lift a requirement that each proposed lease or loan be submitted to lawmakers for approval, while requiring the administration to establish procedures for expedited delivery of that loaned or leased equipment. The streamlined authority under the bill would expire at the end of fiscal year 2023, with the possibility of being extended by Congress if deemed necessary.
The 10 lawmakers who voted against the bill, all Republicans, had variously argued that they believed the authority it gives Biden was too broad and could help draw the U.S. more directly into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, or that any assistance should come with a repayment obligation.
"If the last two decades have taught us anything, it is that it's always much easier to get our country into a foreign conflict than it is to get out," said one of the no voters, Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., in a statement Thursday. "Intervening in an overseas military engagement — whether through the deployment of U.S. personnel, or a blank check for military assistance — is among the most serious decisions an American leader can make. It is a step that should only be taken when clear, vital national security interests of the United States are at stake."
The last time a similar program was used was during World War II, after the Lend-Lease Act was signed into law in March 1941, allowing the U.S. to send military items to allies, starting with Great Britain and eventually expanding to include more than 30 countries between 1941 and 1945.
In effect, the equipment was largely gifted to those countries, sent in exchange for "consideration," which did not usually mean a monetary payment but instead something like an agreement to cooperate on joint action in the future, according to a U.S. Department of State history of the program.
The new bill's passage came after Biden had asked Congress earlier Thursday to approve an additional $33 billion in support for Ukraine, including $20.4 billion in additional security and military assistance, saying the billions of dollars in "drawdown authority" approved by Congress in March had nearly run out.
--Editing by Stephen Berg.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
