Reports, appropriations, and patent rights structure the aid program

Departments had to record exported articles and information by quantity, character, value, terms, and destination. The president owed Congress a report at least every ninety days but could withhold material he judged contrary to the public interest, creating oversight with a wide secrecy exception. Money or property received could return to the relevant appropriation for further authorized spending within the Act's time limits. Contracts also had to protect American patent holders and direct royalty payments to them. Finally, the Army and Navy secretaries could acquire arms or implements of war from an eligible recipient country when the president considered that purchase necessary for American defense. These provisions show the fiscal, informational, and intellectual-property machinery operating beneath the simple language of lending equipment.