Kansas Delegation: GAO Report Short on Expertise, Long on Errors; NBAF Critical to Protect Nation's Fo...( U.S. Senator...),Health

U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, and U.S. Representatives Lynn Jenkins, Dennis Moore, Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt today released the following statement regarding the Government Accountability Office's report on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) analysis of whether Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) research can be conducted as safely on the mainland as on Plum Island.

Washington, DC (Vocus) July 31, 2009 -- U.S. Senators Pat Roberts and Sam Brownback, and U.S. Representatives Lynn Jenkins, Dennis Moore, Jerry Moran and Todd Tiahrt today released the following statement regarding the Government Accountability Office's report on the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) analysis of whether Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) research can be conducted as safely on the mainland as on Plum Island:

"The report backhandedly discounts FMD research already conducted on the mainland in Canada, without any apparent basis in fact, and also ignores the fact that modern building technology allows research on dangerous human diseases in urban areas such as the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, GA.

"Given the fundamental errors in the report, the conclusions are highly suspect. DHS provided nearly 30 pages of technical comments and corrections to the draft and still the final report doesn't correctly list the results of DHS's site selection determinations. The report issued by GAO indicates that Kansas only 'partly' met the evaluation criteria for similar research efforts located 'near' the selected site.

"In fact, Kansas, due to the proximity of the Kansas State College of Veterinary Medicine its existing animal health corridor and the Biosecurity Research Institute, was ranked as meeting or exceeding all of the criteria related to existing research. This was a key determinant in the selection process. For GAO to work on this report for months and still n
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