Chairman Mast Introduces Bill to Ensure Foreign Military Financing Puts America First

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast introduced the Foreign Military Financing Loan Authorization Act of 2026 to give the State Department the green light to arm U.S. partners and allies on terms that put America first.

The legislation supports and expands on President Trump’s executive orders on Reforming Foreign Defense Sales and Establishing an America First Arms Transfer Strategy, which outline concrete steps to expand domestic defense production capacity, reduce bureaucratic inefficiencies, and prioritize American interests by leveraging foreign purchases and investment to support U.S.-based manufacturing.

“America produces the most lethal, effective weapons and military equipment without exception," Chairman Mast said. "Our partners look first to America as the partner of choice because there is no comparison. This bill would ensure we continue to arm our partners and allies under terms that put America first. At its core, this is about increasing integration with our allies, deterring adversaries, and strengthening our defense industrial base. This is the definition of Peace through Strength.”

Foreign military financing has historically been provided to our foreign partners and allies on a non-repayable grant basis. In recent years, Congress has appropriated funding for FMF to be provided on a loan basis, allowing the US to be repaid for certain FMF assistance.

This legislation would:

• Authorize the Secretary of State to issue foreign military financing loans or loan guarantees, taking an America First approach to the longstanding practice of providing FMF to our allies,
• Authorize the Secretary of State to establish flexible terms for such loans, to ensure U.S. loans remain competitive and stay on terms that are beneficial to the U.S., and
• Authorize the State Department to use money collected from FMS cases (FMS admin fees) to fund its activities, to help fund the additional activities created by this legislation.

The measure builds upon key legislation spearheaded by the committee’s bipartisan Foreign Military Sales Task Force, which Chairman Mast established last year to improve the U.S. defense industrial base, eliminate red tape in the arms sales process, and improve interoperability and efficiency with our foreign partners.

Throughout its duration, the task force engaged extensively with foreign partners, defense industry stakeholders, and U.S. government officials across the interagency to gather broad perspectives on reforms needed to modernize the foreign arms sales process and meet future demands.

The task force advanced several major reforms that codify President Trump’s April 2025 executive order, including the AUKUS Reform for Military Optimization and Review (ARMOR) Act and the Made-in-America Defense Act, both of which were signed into law last year.

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