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Moran says USDA is committed to Kansas agro-defense facility

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas says the USDA is committed to providing resources to a vital biosecurity and research facility in the Midwest.

He says Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden visited the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility near the Kansas Statue University campus this week. “As we transition out of the Plum Island facility, we wanted to make certain the number of people needed to work at NBAF, the equipment and the well-being of the building was high on their priority list.”

The $1.25 billion facility, which opened in 2023, is designed to combat foreign, emerging, and zoonotic diseases that threaten the U.S. food supply, agriculture economy and public health.

Moran tells Brownfield, “As technology changes, they learned about things they can learn they need to upgrade to make sure we have the safest and most secure facility possible in the world. Those things are being done, and we need commitment from the USDA to do those as quickly as possible.”

He says he’s optimistic the department understands the needs for the facility to be fully staffed to operate as designed.

Senator Jerry Moran: