WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, along with Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins, today announced Conference Committee passage of funding for the new National Bio and Agro Defense Facility to be located in Manhattan, Kansas.  The committee appropriated $32 million which will be used to finish design and begin construction of the lab next year. 

“I am pleased we were able to keep NBAF funding in the final bill,” said Brownback.  “As a Conference Committee member, it was an honor to sign the final report and I am thankful to the other committee members for working with me to get this done. A modern lab dedicated to protecting our food supply is critical for our nation and there is no better place for this lab than in Kansas.”

Roberts stated, “I am pleased critical planning and construction funding for the new NBAF has been approved,” Senator Roberts said. “It is a clear indication the Congress understands the importance of building a new lab to protect the nation’s food supply and supports moving ahead with construction of the lab in Kansas. This is an important step forward.”

Congresswoman Jenkins said, “From the day I cast a no vote on the House bill because it failed to include NBAF funding, I've worked with Senator Brownback and Senator Roberts to ensure the conference committee chose America's security over politics. I could not be more pleased that NBAF funding is on the verge of passage.”

This year’s request for NBAF was funded in the Senate bill but was not included in the House bill.  The Conference Committee, which is an ad hoc committee comprised of House and Senate Appropriations Committee members, reconciles the differences between the two different bills and presents a unified bill to both chambers for a final vote.  Upon passage in the House and the Senate, the bill heads to the president to be signed into law. Brownback is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee on Homeland Security.  Senator Roberts is the honorary chair of the NBAF Task Force and spearheaded the effort, beginning in 2005, to bring NBAF to Kansas.

The current NBAF lab on Plum Island, New York, is aging and is being phased out and moved to Manhattan, Kansas.  The lab, sometimes referred to as the CDC for animal science, will ensure public health and the safety and security of our national food supply. It will provide integrated research, response, and diagnostic capabilities to protect animal and public health.

It is estimated that over a twenty year period, NBAF would have a $3.5 billion impact on the Kansas economy. The proposed site would be a $451 million, 500,000 square foot building and will create as many as 500 high-paying, scientific federal jobs in Kansas and will bring additional jobs in research partnerships to the state.

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