A U.S. Senate subcommittee has endorsed a spending bill that would authorize $300 million for the construction of a new national bioscience lab at Kansas State University in Manhattan.
In a joint news release Tuesday, Republican Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran say the money for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility was approved by Senate Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations. The bill awaits a vote by the full Senate. A similar amount is pending in a bill before the U.S. House.
The $1.25 billion lab is designed to conduct research on large animals and related diseases, replacing an aging facility at Plum Island, New York.
Roberts and Moran say the funding is equal to the amount sought by President Barack Obama in his budget.
