KTKA

U.S. Senator Pat Roberts addressed a joint session of the Kansas legislature to speak about an important issue facing Kansas and the nation: Bio Defense.

Kansas is in the running for a state-of-the-art National Bio and Agro Defense Facility.

Roberts was in Topeka today to discuss Kansas' future as a world leader in bio-security, and what it would mean for the state to be chosen as the site for Homeland Security's $450 million bio security research facility.

"It would be a gem on the Kansas prairie," Roberts told lawmakers.

...a prairie that is already home to Kansas State University's Bio Security Research Institute.

And, like the K-State facility, the lab would deal with biological threats to humans and animals - the kind of threats that could come from a terrorist attack on American soil.

But there are many other reasons Roberts believes Kansas is in a great position to compete for this project.

"If you're going to conduct security research on ways to protect agriculture and food security in this country and throughout the world you ought to put the facility where you can work with the people most directly involved and experienced in the industry, not somewhere on the east and west coast," Roberts explained.

Roberts is honorary chair of the task force designed to convince Homeland Security to place their new facility in Kansas. It's a role he takes seriously.

"We can not underestimate the tremendous economic impact this facility would have on Kansas," Roberts explained.

Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson co-chairs the task force, and even though the list has been narrowed and Kansas has made the cut so far, it will still take some time before a final decision is made.

"We'll be working on that over the next two years to try to bring that to Kansas," Parkinson said.

This March members of the Department of Homeland Security will begin visiting the sites that are still in the running to try help them determine who goes- and who stays- in their next round of cuts.

Full text of Senator Roberts' speech to the Kansas Legislature is available here.