# October 23, 1941: The Lend-Lease Act

Source page: https://www.webcentive.com/2026/todayhub/lend_lease_act_october_23.html

## What happened on October 23

On **October 23, 1941**, the U.S. Senate passed H.R. 5788, a bill "to make supplemental lease-lend appropriations" of about **$5.98 billion**. The Library of Congress notes that it brought total Lend-Lease aid available to nearly **$13 billion**, weeks before Pearl Harbor.

The Lend-Lease Act itself became law on **March 11, 1941**. October 23 marks the Senate vote on the second round of money for it.

## What the Lend-Lease Act did

Officially "An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States," it let the President supply war materials to any country whose defense he deemed vital to U.S. defense, and to "sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of" defense articles. Repayment could be "in kind or property, or any other direct or indirect benefit."

It began with Great Britain and within months extended to China and the Soviet Union; the first aid to the Soviet Union was on its way by the end of October 1941. In total the U.S. signed agreements with more than 30 countries and supplied about $50 billion in aid.

## What those amounts are worth today

Adjusted with the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI-U, all items, U.S. city average): 1941 annual average 14.7, September 2026 (latest available) 336.940, about 22.9 times higher.

- $7 billion first appropriation, March 1941: about **$160 billion** in 2026 dollars
- $5.98 billion Oct 23, 1941 supplemental: about **$137 billion** in 2026 dollars
- ~$13 billion total available after the vote: about **$298 billion** in 2026 dollars
- ~$50 billion all Lend-Lease aid, 1941-1945: about **$1.1 trillion** in 2026 dollars (at 1941 prices; most was spent later in the war, so this is an upper estimate)

CPI measures consumer prices, so this is only one way to compare. As a share of the much smaller 1941 U.S. economy, these sums would be far larger today.

## Was it repaid?

Mostly not, by design. Lend-Lease was not a loan: the U.S. did not ask to be paid for supplies used up in the war, only for civilian goods on hand or in transit when the program ended in 1945, and for war surplus the Allies kept.

- **Total aid:** $49.1 billion reported through December 31, 1945 (later reports bring it to about $50 billion). British Empire about $30.8 billion, Soviet Union $11.1 billion, France $2.4 billion, China $1.3 billion ([1946 report to Congress](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/SERIALSET-11066_00_00-003-0663-0000/pdf/SERIALSET-11066_00_00-003-0663-0000.pdf)).
- **Aid in return:** about $7.3 billion of "reverse lend-lease" to the U.S. through VJ Day, mostly from the British Commonwealth ([same report](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/SERIALSET-11066_00_00-003-0663-0000/pdf/SERIALSET-11066_00_00-003-0663-0000.pdf)).
- **United Kingdom:** settled December 6, 1945 for a net **$650 million** (about $12 billion in 2026 dollars), repaid on the terms of the $3.75 billion postwar loan: 50 yearly payments at 2%, from 1951. After six deferred years, the last payments were made on **December 29, 2006**, including $83.25 million to the U.S. ([Joint Statement](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/SERIALSET-11066_00_00-003-0663-0000/pdf/SERIALSET-11066_00_00-003-0663-0000.pdf); [BBC](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6215847.stm)).
- **Soviet Union:** agreed October 18, 1972 to pay **$722 million** (about $5.8 billion in 2026 dollars) by 2001; paid the first $48 million, then stopped after the 1974 Trade Act denied it most-favored-nation status. Russia accepted the debt in a 1993 agreement ([Office of the Historian](https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v15/d64); [Senate Finance Committee](https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/soviet.pdf); [State Department](https://1997-2001.state.gov/issues/economic/fs_000301_wardebt.html)). The Kremlin says the final payments were made in 2006 ([TASS](https://tass.com/economy/1951617)).
- **France:** agreed May 28, 1946 to pay **$720 million** (about $12 billion in 2026 dollars) in final settlement, at 2% over 30 yearly payments ([Office of the Historian](https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1946v05/d307)).

2026-dollar figures use BLS CPI-U from the year of each agreement (1945: 18.0, 1946: 19.5, 1972: 41.8; September 2026: 336.940).

## Key dates

- Sep 2, 1940: "Destroyers for Bases" deal with Britain
- Dec 17, 1940: Roosevelt proposes the idea that becomes Lend-Lease
- Jan 10, 1941: Lend-Lease bill (H.R. 1776) introduced in the House
- Mar 11, 1941: Lend-Lease Act becomes law
- Mar 27, 1941: First appropriation, Defense Aid Supplemental Appropriation Act ($7 billion)
- Jun 1941: Germany invades the Soviet Union
- **Oct 23, 1941: Senate passes the $5.98 billion supplemental Lend-Lease appropriation (H.R. 5788)**
- Oct 28, 1941: Executive Order 8926 creates the Office of Lend-Lease Administration
- Dec 7, 1941: Pearl Harbor; the U.S. enters the war days later

## Hear and watch

Original recordings of President Roosevelt. Most are audio only (radio broadcasts); the videos are newsreel film or short films that use the original sound.

### Dec 29, 1940: “Arsenal of Democracy” fireside chat

- **Audio + transcript:** [Miller Center, University of Virginia](https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-29-1940-fireside-chat-16-arsenal-democracy)
- **Audio:** [Original CBS broadcast recording (National Archives ID 2174675), on the Internet Archive](https://archive.org/details/FiresideChatOnNationalSecurity)
- **Video:** [“Arsenal of Democracy”, FDR Library short educational film with the speech audio (2:39)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00bO_bvfLqM)

### Jan 6, 1941: “Four Freedoms” State of the Union

- **Video:** [FDR Library: Paramount newsreel film of the speech synced with the original audio (2:37)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrNDwyj4u1w)
- **Audio + transcript:** [Miller Center, full speech](https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/january-6-1941-state-union-four-freedoms)

### Mar 15, 1941: Address on Lend-Lease, four days after signing

- **Audio + transcript:** [Miller Center: “On Lend Lease”](https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/march-15-1941-lend-lease)
- **Video:** [British Movietone: “Lend-Lease Act - 1941 | Movietone Moment”, March 1941 newsreel of Roosevelt speaking on the bill (1:51)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKFqRFqCcFc)

### Oct 27, 1941: Navy and Total Defense Day address

- **Audio:** [UNT Digital Library: radio recording, part 1 of the speech](https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1531964/)
- **Text:** [American Presidency Project transcript](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-for-navy-and-total-defense-day)

### Today: Modern explainer

- **Video:** [The National WWII Museum: “Lend Lease to the Eastern Front | WWII In 2”, with Michael S. Bell, PhD](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/watch/lend-lease-eastern-front-wwii-2)

More original recordings from 1940-41, including White House press conferences, are in the FDR Library's [Recorded Speeches and Utterances](https://www.fdrlibrary.org/utterancesfdr) collection.

## "Lease Land" or "Lend-Lease"?

The correct name is **Lend-Lease**: it was about lending and leasing war supplies, not land. The related 1940 Destroyers for Bases deal did involve land: 99-year leases on bases in Newfoundland and the Caribbean.

## Sources

- [Library of Congress: Today in History, October 23](https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/october-23/)
- [Voteview: Senate vote 79, October 23, 1941, H.R. 5788](https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0770079)
- [National Archives: Lend-Lease Act (1941)](https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/lend-lease-act)
- [Office of the Historian: Lend-Lease and Military Aid to the Allies](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/lend-lease)
- [Office of the Historian: U.S.-Soviet Alliance, 1941-1945](https://history.state.gov/milestones/1937-1945/us-soviet)
- [American Presidency Project: Executive Order 8926](https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/executive-order-8926-establishing-the-office-lend-lease-administration-the-office-for)
- [GovInfo: Report to the 78th Congress on Lend-Lease Operations](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-PR32_5500-3427f1d346814d2c8c16e8cddd3e6d53/html/GOVPUB-PR32_5500-3427f1d346814d2c8c16e8cddd3e6d53.htm)
- [BLS: CPI-U series CUUR0000SA0](https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUUR0000SA0)
- [BLS: CPI Inflation Calculator](https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm)
- [Miller Center: Presidential Speeches](https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches)
- [FDR Presidential Library & Museum on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/@FDRLibrary)
- [National Archives: Voices of World War II, 1937-1945](https://www.archives.gov/research/military/ww2/sound-recordings.html)
- [The National WWII Museum: Lend Lease to the Eastern Front | WWII In 2](https://www.nationalww2museum.org/watch/lend-lease-eastern-front-wwii-2)
- [GovInfo: Twenty-Second Report to Congress on Lend-Lease Operations (1946), totals by country, reverse lend-lease, U.K. settlement](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/SERIALSET-11066_00_00-003-0663-0000/pdf/SERIALSET-11066_00_00-003-0663-0000.pdf)
- [BBC News: UK settles WWII debts to allies (29 December 2006)](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6215847.stm)
- [The Guardian: For the British Treasury, only today is the war over (29 December 2006)](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2006/dec/29/politics.secondworldwar)
- [Office of the Historian: NSDM 192, Lend-Lease Negotiations with the USSR (October 18, 1972)](https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1969-76v15/d64)
- [U.S. Senate Finance Committee: Background Materials on the U.S.-Soviet Commercial Agreements (1973)](https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/soviet.pdf)
- [U.S. State Department: War-Related Debts of Other Countries to the U.S. Government](https://1997-2001.state.gov/issues/economic/fs_000301_wardebt.html)
- [TASS: Russia repaid lend-lease debts to US only under Putin (April 30, 2025)](https://tass.com/economy/1951617)
- [Office of the Historian: U.S.-France settlement of May 28, 1946](https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1946v05/d307)