# What was the purpose of Lend-Lease if not to circumvent stubborn Republicans in Congress? (Ukraine)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-lend-lease-if-not-to-circumvent-stubborn-republicans-in-congress-ukraine/994444
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [December 11, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-lend-lease-if-not-to-circumvent-stubborn-republicans-in-congress-ukraine/994444 "2023-12-11T21:03:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-lend-lease-if-not-to-circumvent-stubborn-republicans-in-congress-ukraine/994444/1 "2023-12-11T21:03:09Z")
Starting a side thread - this could be FQ or GD:
I’ve been confused about Lend-Lease, but I thought the whole purpose of it was that Biden and the D’s anticipated that Republicans might get stubborn (as they are right now) and Lend-Lease being passed in advance in 2022 meant that even if the R’s balked now, Biden now has a way to circumvent them: He could “lend” large amounts of weaponry to Ukraine, knowing full well that the “debt” will be canceled and Ukraine won’t have to pay a penny for them. (After all, the Soviets never repaid America for WW2 Lend-Lease, no?)
If not, then what was the whole point of passing the Ukraine Lend-Lease act in the first place, if Biden can now be obstructed so easily by Republicans right now?
---
### Author:  [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2023, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-lend-lease-if-not-to-circumvent-stubborn-republicans-in-congress-ukraine/994444/2 "2023-12-12T00:29:11Z")
> **[Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_Democracy_Defense_Lend-Lease_Act_of_2022)**
>
> The Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act of 2022 was an act of the United States Congress that facilitates the supply of materiel to the Ukrainian government in a manner similar to the World War II Lend-Lease Act in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
> Ukrainian diplomats worked hard to extend the Lend-Lease program beyond September 2023, but it expired on September 30.
> As of October 1, 2023, the act has been terminated since the fiscal year of 2023 has been over, without any use o...
AFAICT it expired earlier this year.
---
### Author:  [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2023, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-lend-lease-if-not-to-circumvent-stubborn-republicans-in-congress-ukraine/994444/3 "2023-12-12T01:40:24Z")
Look at the date it was [signed into law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_Democracy_Defense_Lend-Lease_Act_of_2022#Passage_of_legislation) by Biden:
> President [Joe Biden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden) signed the bill into law on May 9, 2022, Soviet [Victory Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victory_Day_(9_May)), which has turned into a fiercely nationalist event in Russia, leading critics to term the holiday _[pobedobesie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pobedobesie)_ (victory mania). This signing date was seen as a “rejoinder to Russian President [Vladimir Putin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vladimir_Putin), who has seized on Victory in Europe Day — the anniversary of Germany’s unconditional surrender in 1945 and Russia’s biggest patriotic holiday — to rally his people behind the invasion.”
---
### Author:  [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-purpose-of-lend-lease-if-not-to-circumvent-stubborn-republicans-in-congress-ukraine/994444/4 "2023-12-12T02:10:44Z")
Even if the act was still in effect, there’s a limit to how much of our arsenal we can “lend” to Ukraine without impacting our own military readiness. And backfilling those weapons systems requires appropriations from Congress.