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) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To provide for the loan and lease of defense articles to 

the Government of Taiwan, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Taiwan Democracy 

5 Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LOAN AND LEASE OF DEFENSE ARTICLES TO GOV7 ERNMENT OF TAIWAN. 

8 (a) AUTHORITY TO LEND OR LEASE DEFENSE ARTI9 CLES TO GOVERNMENT OF TAIWAN.— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 770 IS

1 (1) AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding section 

2 503(b)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 

3 U.S.C. 2311(b)(3)) or section 61 of the Arms Ex4 port Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2796), the President 

5 may lend or lease defense articles to the Government 

6 of Taiwan to assist in the bolstering of the defensive 

7 capabilities of such Government or the protection of 

8 the citizen population of Taiwan from potential ag9 gression carried out by the People’s Liberation Army 

10 of China against Taiwan (including through one or 

11 more of the means described in paragraph (2)) if, as 

12 a condition of such loan or lease, the President re13 quires— 

14 (A) the payment by the Government of 

15 Taiwan of the cost of restoring or replacing the 

16 defense article, in the case that the defense ar17 ticle is damaged; and 

18 (B) the payment by the Government of 

19 Taiwan of an amount equal to the replacement 

20 cost (less any depreciation in the value) of the 

21 defense article, in the case that the defense ar22 ticle is lost or destroyed. 

23 (2) MEANS OF AGGRESSION BY PEOPLE’S LIB24 ERATION ARMY.—The means described in this para25 graph are the following: 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 770 IS

1 (A) The full or partial naval blockade of 

2 Taiwan. 

3 (B) An amphibious assault and ground in4 vasion of Taiwan. 

5 (C) A missile strike (whether conducted 

6 alone or as a part of a broader campaign). 

7 (D) Kinetic or non-kinetic operations 

8 against military targets or critical infrastruc9 ture in Taiwan. 

10 (E) A seizure, or attempted seizure, of one 

11 or more of the outlying islands controlled by 

12 Taiwan. 

13 (3) DEFENSE SERVICES AND DEFENSE CON14 STRUCTION SERVICES.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The President may fi16 nance the procurement of defense services and 

17 design and construction services by the Govern18 ment of Taiwan in connection with a loan or 

19 lease of a defense article to such Government 

20 under paragraph (1), if, as a condition of such 

21 financing, the President requires that, not later 

22 than 12 years after the date on which the 

23 agreement with the Government of Taiwan for 

24 such financing is signed on behalf of the United 

25 States Government, the Government of Taiwan 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 770 IS

1 pay to the United States Government (in 

2 United States dollars) an amount equal to the 

3 sum of— 

4 (i) the value of such services; and 

5 (ii) any interest on the unpaid balance 

6 of the obligation for payment under clause 

7 (i), at a rate that, except as provided in 

8 subparagraph (B), is equivalent to the av9 erage interest rate, as of the last day of 

10 the month preceding the date on which 

11 such agreement is signed, that the United 

12 States Government pays on outstanding 

13 marketable obligations of comparable ma14 turity. 

15 (B) EXCEPTION TO INTEREST RATE RE16 QUIREMENT.—If the President submits to Con17 gress a certification containing a determination 

18 that national security requires a lesser rate of 

19 interest than the rate calculated pursuant to 

20 clause (ii) of subparagraph (A), a justification 

21 for such determination, and an identification of 

22 such lesser rate, the lesser rate so identified 

23 shall apply in lieu of the rate calculated pursu24 ant to such clause. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 770 IS

1 (b) DELEGATION OF AUTHORITY.—The President 

2 may delegate the authority under subsection (a) only to 

3 an official appointed by the President by and with the ad4 vice and consent of the Senate. 

5 (c) PROCEDURES FOR DELIVERY OF DEFENSE ARTI6 CLES.—Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the President shall establish expedited 

8 procedures for the delivery of any defense article loaned 

9 or leased to the Government of Taiwan under subsection 

10 (a) to ensure the timely delivery of the defense article to 

11 such Government. 

12 (d) REPORT ON DETERMINATION OF DEFENSE

13 NEEDS OF TAIWAN.— 

14 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

16 Defense, in collaboration with the Commander of the 

17 United States Indo-Pacific Command, shall submit 

18 to Congress a report on the potential loan and lease 

19 of defense articles to the Government of Taiwan 

20 under subsection (a). The report shall include the 

21 following elements: 

22 (A) An initial assessment of the defense 

23 articles that are appropriate for such loan or 

24 lease. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 770 IS

1 (B) An assessment of any supply chain or 

2 other logistical challenges associated with the 

3 loan or lease of defense articles identified pur4 suant to subparagraph (A). 

5 (C) A discussion of expected timeframes 

6 for the provision to the Government of Taiwan 

7 of defense articles identified pursuant to sub8 paragraph (A), including— 

9 (i) expected timelines for the delivery 

10 of such defense articles; and 

11 (ii) expected timelines for the full in12 tegration of such defense articles by the 

13 military of Taiwan, such that the military 

14 of Taiwan is able to effectively use defense 

15 articles so delivered in the event of a con16 flict with the People’s Republic of China. 

17 (D) Such other matters as the Secretary 

18 may consider appropriate. 

19 (2) FORM.—The report under paragraph (1) 

20 shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may in21 clude a classified annex. 

22 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘de23 fense article’’, ‘‘defense service’’, and ‘‘design and con24 struction services’’ have the meanings given those terms 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 770 IS

1 in section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 

2 2794). 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS