House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) wants to look into reports that Chinese nationals have attempted to gain access to military installations, according to a press release. He and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.), chair of the committee’s national security panel, requested a staff briefing on the issue in a Monday letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and FBI Director Christopher Wray.

“These efforts to access U.S. military bases and facilities raise concerns about what these Chinese nationals are seeking to access and for what purpose,” they wrote. “The People’s Republic of China (PRC) has long used espionage as a tool to gain access to U.S. national security secrets. But the PRC’s efforts to spy on the United States has become more brazen in recent years.”

The lawmakers also cite mystery or foreign real estate deals near military installations, such as Travis Air Force Base, California and Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota. Foreign investment near those bases and others is the topic of the most recent episode of America’s Defense Communities | The Podcast.

Army Corps of Engineers photo of Comer by Leon Roberts