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OLATHE, Kan. — Congress has taken another important step forward to initiate construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas. The Department of Homeland Security project will accelerate research to protect the American food supply and agriculture economy.

Members of the Kansas congressional delegation announced today that a Senate and House conference committee for homeland security appropriations approved $32 million to complete the NBAF’s site-specific design phase, and begin construction. The bill contains provisions to ensure the laboratory will include modern research safety features. Upon House and Senate passage of the conference committee report, the bill will head to the president's desk to be signed into law.

Kansas Bioscience Authority president Tom Thornton lauded the action and said it was a strong validation of Congressional support for the NBAF and its siting in Kansas.

“Kudos to Senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, and to the entire Kansas congressional delegation, Governor Mark Parkinson, the Kansas Legislature, Kansas State University, the City of Manhattan, and members of the Heartland Bio Agro Consortium for working together to articulate the importance of this national investment and the critical role Kansas will play to ensure its success.”

“With this action, it is clear that Congress is committed to building the NBAF on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. It is far past time for us to modernize our research on animal diseases threatening American agriculture and our nation’s food supply, and that’s a mission we are uniquely prepared to carry out safely and successfully in Kansas,” said Thornton.

Fiscal year 2010 funding for the NBAF would be in addition to $82 million appropriated over the last four years to bring the facility to fruition.

In recent weeks, key agriculture groups and veterinary experts joined a national coalition of public- and private-sector NBAF proponents and subject-matter experts to urge Congress to move forward without delay on the state-of-the-art research facility, which was included in President Obama’s budget.

The NBAF, which will be built at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kan., will serve as the nation’s premier research center for combating agriculture’s vulnerability to naturally occurring diseases or agro-terrorism.

Kansas State University was unanimously selected on the merits as the best location for the NBAF by a select panel of scientists and experts from DHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The decision came after three years of competitive federal review of 29 interested sites around the country; a phase-two evaluation of 18 sites in 11 states; and an environmental impact statement process involving six finalist sites in line with the National Environmental Policy Act.

Facility design is well underway, with the start of construction planned for 2010. The NBAF is expected to be fully operational by 2015.

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