WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - Two U.S. House of Representatives committees said Friday they are investigating Ford Motor Co's partnership with Chinese battery company CATL.

Ford in February announced plans to use technology from CATL as part of the automaker's plan to spend $3.5 billion to build a battery plant in Michigan.

The Republican chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Select Committee in a joint letter demanded Ford answer questions about the deal and warned if Ford remains reliant on China for inputs to produce electric vehicle batteries, "the company will be exposing itself and U.S. taxpayers to the whims of the Chinese Communist Party and its politics." (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Jonathan Oatis)