Manhattan’s NBAF Project Gets More Money June 24, 2014

The plan for a state-of-the-art biological defense lab at K-State good good news today.
The project got the full 300-million it was seeking from the Senate Appropriations Committee.
It’s also been approved by a House Committee.
So the project, the National Bio and Agro- Defense Facility, known as “N-BAF”, appears to be in good shape to be fully funded by Washington

Kansas Senate to Debate NBAF Money Tuesday May 14, 2013

(AP) – The Kansas Senate plans to debate Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to authorize an additional $202 million for a new, national biodefense lab.

Brownback has said the measure on Tuesday’s agenda in the Senate will fulfill the state’s commitment to fund part of the cost of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility at Kansas State University.

The new lab would research dangerous animal diseases and replacing an aging facility on Plum Island, N.Y. But its projected cost has more than doubled to $1.15 billion since Kansas landed the project in 2009.

Kansas already has authorized $105 million in bonds for the lab, but President Barack Obama’s latest budget proposal includes $714 million for the project.

State officials pursued the project because it promises more than 300 high-paying jobs.

Animal Health Corridor Chair says Losing NBAF Could Hurt Credentials of the Project February 14, 2012

The Chairman of the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor Board says without the national Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) slated for Kansas state university, the credibility of the project would be damaged.
President Obama’s budget eliminates money for continued construction of the plant and called for a re-assessment of its future.
Craig Wallace says the project, turning the region into a center for animal health research, product development and sales is successful now.
He adds, however, NBAF would be “bringing added credibility that this is the epicenter of the animal health industry.”
Wallace made his remarks in a Monday night interview on KMBC TV.
Wallace says 32% of all of the animal health business in the world is centered in Kansas City.
Wallace says the NBAF laboratory project would add 300 to 500 jobs in the region for construction and operation of the plant. The billion dollar project is supposed to replace a similar operation now in Ft. Plum, New York. Booster of the K-State NBAF facility says the nation needs a new state-of-the-art food-chain safety laboratory.
The intention is to protect the food chain from acts of bio or agro terrorism, or other threats to the food supply.
Monday Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and the state’s Congressional delegation blasted the Obama budget decision to eliminate construction money.
In the statement, the Kansas group called the decision a change in direction that is “unacceptable”.
The region’s Animal Health Corridor stretches from K-State down I-70 to the east in Fulton, Missouri. It includes animal health projects at William Woods College in Fulton, Missouri. The University of Missouri Vet School also participates. Scores of animal health businesses are the along I-70 corridor. At the K-U campus, researchers work on animal vaccines. At K-State, animal health research is well established.
The addition of the NBAF plant would re-enforce that concentration of animal health research, according to Wallace.

Kansas Animal Bio Tech Lab Misses Out on Funding in Obama Budget, Wants It Re-Evaluated February 13, 2012

(AP) – President Barack Obama is recommending no additional funding in the next federal budget for construction of a new biosecurity lab in Kansas.

The budget released Monday raises questions about the future of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility under construction in Manhattan near Kansas State University. The project is estimated to cost $650 million to complete and would replace an aging facility at Plum Island, N.Y.

The administration requested $150 million in the current year, of which only $50 million was appropriated by Congress, which the White House says is insufficient to begin construction.

Obama is asking the Department of Homeland Security to reevaluate the project, while spending $10 million to increase the amount of research being done at Kansas State’s Biosecurity Research Institute.