Chairmen Pfluger, Green probe federal government response to Chinese foreign nationals attempting to access U.S. military bases
Washington,
September 19, 2023
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) and House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN) sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray probing the agencies’ response to threats from the Chinese Communist Party identified in a Wall Street Journal exclusive, which reported that Chinese foreign nationals, sometimes posing as tourists, have attempted to access U.S. military bases and other sensitive U.S. sites as many as 100 times in recent years. Read more in the Wall Street Journal. In the letter, the Chairmen state, “These reports indicate that these intrusions, which U.S. officials describe as a form of espionage, seem designed to test security practices at U.S. military installations and other U.S. government sites. For instance, some Chinese nationals were reportedly detected crossing into a U.S. missile range in New Mexico and others were caught disguised as scuba divers swimming close to a rocket-launch site in Florida—a site used for surveillance satellites and other sensitive military purposes. Subsequently, these Chinese nationals report back to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) about what they learn.” The Chairmen conclude, “These persistent and multi-faceted threats posed by the CCP to U.S. homeland security have only intensified under the Biden-Harris administration. It is curious that while we continue to witness the CCP operating below the threshold of traditional conflict to deceive the U.S., the Biden-Harris administration displays weakness on the world stage inviting further aggression by the CCP. Our concerns are only further heightened in light of the Wall Street Journal’s recent reporting about Chinese nationals posing as tourists to gain access to U.S. sensitive sites. To assist the Committee's oversight of the broad threats posed by the CCP to U.S. homeland security, and to examine your respective and collective Department’s efforts to fully mitigate these brazen activities, please provide the following documents and information as soon as possible[.]” In May, Subcommittee Chairman Pfluger and Subcommittee on Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Protection Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) sent a letter to Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly requesting a briefing on the threats posed by the CCP to the information and communications technology (ICT) supply chain, in which they request more information regarding CISA’s efforts through the Federal Acquisition Security Council (FASC) to protect against the CCP’s use of source code in infiltrating and maintaining access to ICT supply chains. In March, Chairman Pfluger led a subcommittee hearing examining CCP threats with testimony from national security experts. |