WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins today urged her colleagues to support the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), which is scheduled to be constructed in her congressional district in Manhattan, Kan.

Text of the statement follows:

I rise today in support of the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, also known as the NBAF. After September 11, former-President Bush issued a security directive to increase our nation’s capacity for animal disease research to protect our food supply as well as defend our agriculture and public health against disease outbreaks.

This directive could not come too soon, as the H1N1 pandemic is testament to the need for such high-level disease research and the impacts such outbreaks have on individuals in the United States and also around the world. The current facility at Plum Island is aging and cannot keep pace with today’s needs.

DHS conducted an exhaustive, three year search for the best site to relocate the facility. In January, the Department completed its search and finalized Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas as the site selection.

The so-called animal health corridor, stretching from Manhattan to Columbia, Missouri, is home to more than one-third of the animal health industry, involving more than 120 companies. Additionally, Kansas State has an internationally recognized animal health research expertise and with existing research infrastructure, including the Biosecurity Research Institute and the National Agricultural Biosecurity Center.  DHS chose the right place for NBAF, and now, we must work to complete the construction process.

This project is critical to the protection of our food supply and public health and is why we cannot afford to delay it. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the construction of NBAF in Kansas.

Jenkins reaffirmed her commitment to ensure the NBAF project proceeds smoothly. She will continue to work with her colleagues in the House and Senate as the appropriations process moves forward to ensure that America’s food supply and public health can be protected.