Chairman Comer Investigates Biden-Era DOD Sale of Land Near Military Bases to CCP-Linked Nonprofits

WASHINGTON—Today, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) announced that the Committee is investigating the Biden-era Department of Defense’s use of the Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program to facilitate the sale of land easements near U.S. military bases to nonprofits with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under the guise of conservation. This inquiry is part of the Committee’s broader investigation into the regulatory burdens, bad policies, and hidden special interests that characterized the Biden Administration. In a letter to DOD Secretary Pete Hegseth, Chairman Comer requests a staff-level briefing on security risks and mitigation for REPI partnership.

“[T]he Committee is examining the Biden-era Department of Defense’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (REPI). Specifically, the Committee is investigating the Biden Administration’s use of REPI to facilitate the sale of land easements adjacent to military bases to nonprofits with ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under the pretense of conservation,” wrote Chairman Comer. “[R]eports indicate The Nature Conservancy, a REPI partner involved in 34 buffer projects, has ties to the CCP. Additionally, employees of The Nature Conservancy’s China Program have held positions within the CCP, including roles at the Chinese People’s Political Consultive Conference, the United Front Working Department, China’s State Economic and Trade Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment. In addition, these employees have contributed articles to the state-run publication People’s Daily.”

REPI is designed as “a tool for combating encroachment that can limit or restrict military training, testing, and operations.” A key feature of the program is its use of partnerships among military services, private conservation groups, and state and local governments to share the cost of acquiring easements and land near military bases. However, multiple Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports over the years have highlighted the Department of Defense’s shortcomings in adequately assessing the risk of foreign encroachment on federal lands. Through REPI, the Department typically partners with private organizations to purchase easements—legal agreements that restrict how land around military installations can be used. These arrangements, known as “buffer projects,” often incorporate conservation goals, such as habitat and land preservation.

“The Committee also found that two additional organizations listed as partners on the Department’s REPI website­­—Rio Tinto and Rayonier—appear to have offices in the PRC or have worked with organizations affiliated with the CCP,” continued Chairman Comer. “These REPI partnerships are particularly worrying given the proximity of projects to military installations. CCP access to buffer projects could pose great risk to U.S. military installations and attempts to breach U.S. installations are not without precedent.”

Read the letter to Secretary Hegseth here.