The Chief Executive under the proposed act could provide for the production of weapons, munitions, aircraft, and ships. He was authorized to secure the necessary machinery, tools, materials, and supplies for their manufacture, repair, servicing, or operation. And he was given power to transfer weapons and tools as well as farming and industrial machines and articles to any country whose defense he deemed “vital to the defense of the United States.”
The administration of lend-lease was to be entrusted to the president, with Congress exercising its constitutional control over appropriations. The provisions for final settlement, as we shall see later, were to be left very broad. The greatest immediate benefits were expected to be the results wined by our allies in using lend-lease weapons against the aggressor nations. Beyond that, nations receiving aid were expected to assist us in their turn. Events alone could determine what form the return benefits of this mutual aid program would take.
The heart of the proposed law was the phrase: nations whose defense is “vital to the defense of the United States.” It was a recognition of the importance for ourselves of supporting our friends against attack. It testified to a realization that if they went down our own ability to stand off aggression would suffer.
