Taiwan Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2023

Subjects: International Affairs


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 770 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Taiwan Democracy Defense Lend-Lease 
Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. LOAN AND LEASE OF DEFENSE ARTICLES TO GOVERNMENT OF TAIWAN.

    (a) Authority To Lend or Lease Defense Articles to Government of 
Taiwan.--
            (1) Authority.--Notwithstanding section 503(b)(3) of the 
        Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2311(b)(3)) or 
        section 61 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2796), the 
        President may lend or lease defense articles to the Government 
        of Taiwan to assist in the bolstering of the defensive 
        capabilities of such Government or the protection of the 
        citizen population of Taiwan from potential aggression carried 
        out by the People's Liberation Army of China against Taiwan 
        (including through one or more of the means described in 
        paragraph (2)) if, as a condition of such loan or lease, the 
        President requires--
                    (A) the payment by the Government of Taiwan of the 
                cost of restoring or replacing the defense article, in 
                the case that the defense article is damaged; and
                    (B) the payment by the Government of Taiwan of an 
                amount equal to the replacement cost (less any 
                depreciation in the value) of the defense article, in 
                the case that the defense article is lost or destroyed.
            (2) Means of aggression by people's liberation army.--The 
        means described in this paragraph are the following:
                    (A) The full or partial naval blockade of Taiwan.
                    (B) An amphibious assault and ground invasion of 
                Taiwan.
                    (C) A missile strike (whether conducted alone or as 
                a part of a broader campaign).
                    (D) Kinetic or non-kinetic operations against 
                military targets or critical infrastructure in Taiwan.
                    (E) A seizure, or attempted seizure, of one or more 
                of the outlying islands controlled by Taiwan.
            (3) Defense services and defense construction services.--
                    (A) In general.--The President may finance the 
                procurement of defense services and design and 
                construction services by the Government of Taiwan in 
                connection with a loan or lease of a defense article to 
                such Government under paragraph (1), if, as a condition 
                of such financing, the President requires that, not 
                later than 12 years after the date on which the 
                agreement with the Government of Taiwan for such 
                financing is signed on behalf of the United States 
                Government, the Government of Taiwan pay to the United 
                States Government (in United States dollars) an amount 
                equal to the sum of--
                            (i) the value of such services; and
                            (ii) any interest on the unpaid balance of 
                        the obligation for payment under clause (i), at 
                        a rate that, except as provided in subparagraph 
                        (B), is equivalent to the average interest 
                        rate, as of the last day of the month preceding 
                        the date on which such agreement is signed, 
                        that the United States Government pays on 
                        outstanding marketable obligations of 
                        comparable maturity.
                    (B) Exception to interest rate requirement.--If the 
                President submits to Congress a certification 
                containing a determination that national security 
                requires a lesser rate of interest than the rate 
                calculated pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (A), 
                a justification for such determination, and an 
                identification of such lesser rate, the lesser rate so 
                identified shall apply in lieu of the rate calculated 
                pursuant to such clause.
    (b) Delegation of Authority.--The President may delegate the 
authority under subsection (a) only to an official appointed by the 
President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.
    (c) Procedures for Delivery of Defense Articles.--Not later than 60 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall 
establish expedited procedures for the delivery of any defense article 
loaned or leased to the Government of Taiwan under subsection (a) to 
ensure the timely delivery of the defense article to such Government.
    (d) Report on Determination of Defense Needs of Taiwan.--
            (1) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in 
        collaboration with the Commander of the United States Indo-
        Pacific Command, shall submit to Congress a report on the 
        potential loan and lease of defense articles to the Government 
        of Taiwan under subsection (a). The report shall include the 
        following elements:
                    (A) An initial assessment of the defense articles 
                that are appropriate for such loan or lease.
                    (B) An assessment of any supply chain or other 
                logistical challenges associated with the loan or lease 
                of defense articles identified pursuant to subparagraph 
                (A).
                    (C) A discussion of expected timeframes for the 
                provision to the Government of Taiwan of defense 
                articles identified pursuant to subparagraph (A), 
                including--
                            (i) expected timelines for the delivery of 
                        such defense articles; and
                            (ii) expected timelines for the full 
                        integration of such defense articles by the 
                        military of Taiwan, such that the military of 
                        Taiwan is able to effectively use defense 
                        articles so delivered in the event of a 
                        conflict with the People's Republic of China.
                    (D) Such other matters as the Secretary may 
                consider appropriate.
            (2) Form.--The report under paragraph (1) shall be 
        submitted in unclassified form, but may include a classified 
        annex.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section, the terms ``defense article'', 
``defense service'', and ``design and construction services'' have the 
meanings given those terms in section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act 
(22 U.S.C. 2794).
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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