WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Pat Roberts today announced the Department of Homeland Security will build the nation’s premier laboratory for plant and animal disease research, called the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas on the Kansas State University Campus, making one of the most significant investments to the Kansas economy in state history.

Senator Roberts said, "With this new lab, Kansas will cement it’s reputation as the nation’s leader in plant and animal health research and the biosciences. We will reap the benefits of a cutting edge industry while protecting the nation’s food supply and agricultural economy for years to come. Kansans can be very proud. This is a historic day."

The Department of Homeland Security released its final record of decision today, selecting Manhattan as the site for the lab. The NBAF will replace the aging Plum Island facility, the federal government’s current location for animal disease research.

In February 2007, Senator Roberts addressed a rare joint session of the Kansas House and Senate soliciting their support for the state’s bid to bring the proposed federal research lab to Kansas.

Roberts said then, "There is no doubt, securing this facility would be one of, if not the greatest, economic development initiatives in state history. It is a key to the economic future of Kansas. If it happens, future generations of Kansans will have economic opportunities available to them that are currently unimaginable or available only outside the border of Kansas."

Senator Roberts hailed the many positive partnerships created to win the NBAF, including state government, the NBAF Task Force, of which Roberts was the honorary chairman, the Kansas Bioscience Authority, President Jon Wefald of Kansas State University and the City of Manhattan.

"We can really be proud of our teamwork to prove that Kansas is the best home for this laboratory based on the merits. We had a unity of effort from the federal to the local level, across parties, with private partners and community leaders to bring this tremendous opportunity to the people of Kansas."

Senator Roberts’ effort to bring the NBAF to Kansas began in 2005 when the Congress approved funding for site selection and preconstruction planning of a new research facility to replace Plum Island. Senator Roberts began working with Kansas State University officials and encouraged the University and the state to make a proposal for locating this facility in Kansas. Since that time, Senator Roberts has worked on bringing the NBAF to Kansas, personally speaking with key Administration officials, hosting them on tours of the Bioscecurity Research Institute, housed in Pat Roberts Hall at Kansas State University, and the proposed sites.

Senator Roberts is a senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and is Honorary Chairman of the Kansas NBAF Task Force.

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