Cord Byrd: “The supplemental provides $50 million in construction funds toward the modernization of the National Animal Disease…”

“The supplemental provides $50 million in construction funds toward the modernization of the National Animal Disease Laboratory in Ames, IA, under the Agricultural Research Service Buildings and Facilities account. The full $50 million is offset. This is not designated as an emergency. The money is fully offset. The total construction costs for modernization of this laboratory are estimated at $430 million. To date, including the $50 million in the supplemental, the Congress will have provided $149 million. Mission responsibilities of the Ames, IA, lab include the eradication or control of devastating diseases, including bovine tuberculosis; vaccine development; disease control strategies for scrapie; chronic wasting disease; and others. The National Animal Disease Laboratory combines the research and regulatory responsibilities of the Agricultural Research Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. The National Animal Disease Laboratory has been responsible for research on anthrax and it is the national research center responsible for the prevention of mad cow disease in this country. Recent episodes of mad cow disease, foot and mouth disease, and others in the United Kingdom, are stark evidence of the public health and economic disasters that result from such outbreaks.”