Columns
July Column
Jul 20 2007
Kansas has made the final five! It isn’t March, but I’ll take the good news in July. I am referring to the announcement earlier this month that Manhattan, Kansas was one of five sites chosen to compete for a significant new federal research facility called the National Agro and Bio-Defense Facility (NBAF), that would bring billions of dollars and hundreds of jobs to our economy.
The NBAF will replace the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center, the nation’s top laboratory responsible for research protecting our animal industries and exports against foreign animal disease agents accidentally or deliberately introduced into the U.S.
The new NBAF will be the premier biosecurity research laboratory in the nation and the world. It will be a $451 million, 500,000 square foot building that will create as many as 500 high-paying, scientific federal jobs in the state of Kansas, plus will bring additional jobs in research partnerships in the state. Over a 20 year period, it is estimated that the facility would have a $3.5 billion impact on the Kansas economy.
In 2005, my staff discovered the intentions of the Department of Homeland Security to build a new facility and we set to work meeting with Kansas State University and others on how to bring the NBAF to Kansas.
I spoke to the state legislature in February and asked for their cooperation as we entered the fierce competition among 12 other states. The competition for the NBAF is one of the most exciting scientific and economic development opportunities to ever come before the state of Kansas. Rarely do we have the opportunity to work together on a project so large, that we can honestly say it has the potential to impact the lives of all Kansans, our children and grandchildren, and economy of the state for years to come. And we have a great partnership of federal, state, local and private industry officials working together to make this a reality.
Governor Sebelius appointed me Honorary Chairman of the NBAF Task Force. We continued hosting key decision makers within DHS and USDA on tours of the significant bio and agro-defense research expertise already present in Kansas. In May, I accompanied DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology, Jay Cohen on a tour of Kansas State University’s Biosecurity Research Institute in Pat Roberts Hall and another site in Leavenworth that was under consideration at the time. I also sent staff to Plum Island to assess first-hand ongoing research and future needs.
These efforts are on top of the merits Kansans can already boast of including a long standing history of supporting research to better this industry. We have the Kansas City area animal health and life sciences corridor that is second to none with over 125 companies, 37 with global headquarters located in the area. This number includes 4 of the 10 largest global animal health companies in the world. Together, all these companies represent 27 percent of total U.S. sales and 30 percent of global sales in a $14.2 billion animal health market. In addition, Kansas has already shown that it is committed to this level of research through the recent construction of the Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State and the new Life Sciences Innovation Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
The next step in the site selection process will be an environmental impact study projected to be completed in 2008. Upon completion of the studies, DHS will then choose the location of the new NBAF. Construction is set to begin 2010.
As you can see, it is no mistake Manhattan is in the Final Five. The partnership of the legislature, the Governor, Kansas State University, the Kansas Bioscience Authority, industry and the Kansas NBAF Task Force all makes us the team bringing their A-game and we are in it to win it.
I especially want to acknowledge the leadership of Governor Sebelius and Lt. Governor Parkinson in this effort. It truly is a team effort. Furthermore, I believe we are showing that when it comes to working on behalf of Kansas, party affiliations do not matter. We work together to do what is best for the state and its people.
If you would like to know more about issues before the Senate, please visit my Web site at https://www.roberts.senate.gov . For regular updates, be sure to sign up on my home page for a monthly e-newsletter, The Roberts Report.
The NBAF will replace the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center, the nation’s top laboratory responsible for research protecting our animal industries and exports against foreign animal disease agents accidentally or deliberately introduced into the U.S.
The new NBAF will be the premier biosecurity research laboratory in the nation and the world. It will be a $451 million, 500,000 square foot building that will create as many as 500 high-paying, scientific federal jobs in the state of Kansas, plus will bring additional jobs in research partnerships in the state. Over a 20 year period, it is estimated that the facility would have a $3.5 billion impact on the Kansas economy.
In 2005, my staff discovered the intentions of the Department of Homeland Security to build a new facility and we set to work meeting with Kansas State University and others on how to bring the NBAF to Kansas.
I spoke to the state legislature in February and asked for their cooperation as we entered the fierce competition among 12 other states. The competition for the NBAF is one of the most exciting scientific and economic development opportunities to ever come before the state of Kansas. Rarely do we have the opportunity to work together on a project so large, that we can honestly say it has the potential to impact the lives of all Kansans, our children and grandchildren, and economy of the state for years to come. And we have a great partnership of federal, state, local and private industry officials working together to make this a reality.
Governor Sebelius appointed me Honorary Chairman of the NBAF Task Force. We continued hosting key decision makers within DHS and USDA on tours of the significant bio and agro-defense research expertise already present in Kansas. In May, I accompanied DHS Under Secretary for Science and Technology, Jay Cohen on a tour of Kansas State University’s Biosecurity Research Institute in Pat Roberts Hall and another site in Leavenworth that was under consideration at the time. I also sent staff to Plum Island to assess first-hand ongoing research and future needs.
These efforts are on top of the merits Kansans can already boast of including a long standing history of supporting research to better this industry. We have the Kansas City area animal health and life sciences corridor that is second to none with over 125 companies, 37 with global headquarters located in the area. This number includes 4 of the 10 largest global animal health companies in the world. Together, all these companies represent 27 percent of total U.S. sales and 30 percent of global sales in a $14.2 billion animal health market. In addition, Kansas has already shown that it is committed to this level of research through the recent construction of the Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State and the new Life Sciences Innovation Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center.
The next step in the site selection process will be an environmental impact study projected to be completed in 2008. Upon completion of the studies, DHS will then choose the location of the new NBAF. Construction is set to begin 2010.
As you can see, it is no mistake Manhattan is in the Final Five. The partnership of the legislature, the Governor, Kansas State University, the Kansas Bioscience Authority, industry and the Kansas NBAF Task Force all makes us the team bringing their A-game and we are in it to win it.
I especially want to acknowledge the leadership of Governor Sebelius and Lt. Governor Parkinson in this effort. It truly is a team effort. Furthermore, I believe we are showing that when it comes to working on behalf of Kansas, party affiliations do not matter. We work together to do what is best for the state and its people.
If you would like to know more about issues before the Senate, please visit my Web site at https://www.roberts.senate.gov . For regular updates, be sure to sign up on my home page for a monthly e-newsletter, The Roberts Report.
