One day after President George W. Bush called for extra funding in bioterrorism research, state and university officials are trying to get a laboratory at MSU the cash it needs to operate.
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, Bush said he had nearly doubled homeland security funding for areas including bioterrorism research.
The changes will take effect in the 2004 fiscal year.
"Knowledge gained from bioterrorism research will improve public health," Bush said. "We will develop vaccines to fight anthrax and other deadly diseases. "
The new Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory at MSU, which is still under construction, was at the end of a $700,000 last-minute funding veto in December by then-Gov. John Engler.
The lab is scheduled to open sometime next winter, and is designed to detect and research diseases including bovine tuberculosis and the West Nile virus in animals.
Located on the corner of Forest and Beaumont roads, the $58-million, state-funded lab will replace one built in the 1970s that is spread out across five buildings.
Last fall, the lab tested dead birds from across the state for the West Nile virus. Earlier this month, lab director Willie Reed said the new facility could be where the first bioterrorism agent is detected if animals are dying from diseases like anthrax.
Reed said he doesn't know how another $3 million for the facility's annual operating costs will be funded either. But he said the diagnostic lab speaks to Bush's concerns.
"The lab is really here to do what the president is suggesting," he said. "By funding the lab, the state is really stepping forward to address the concern."
No action has yet been taken by Gov. Jennifer Granholm's administration to restore the lab's funding, but before her election Granholm said she would work with MSU to "help ensure full functioning capability of the new Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory."
State Sen. Virg Bernero said he will write Granholm a letter this week explaining why the diagnostic lab is necessary in ensuring the safety of the people of Michigan and the country.
"With the threat of bioterrorism, this lab is a crucial part of homeland security," Bernero said, adding he took a tour of the facility two days ago.
Bernero said it wouldn't be fair for MSU to use tuition dollars to pay for the lab's operating costs because it is a state facility. He expects to convince Granholm's administration to fund the lab with some of the $30 million in federal money Michigan received for homeland security.
"It's bolstering our security and defense," Bernero said. "The state needs to step up."
The new lab will house a fish diagnostic center and will be the only one of its kind in the state.
Howard Gobstein, MSU's associate vice president for governmental affairs in Washington, D.C., said Bush will release his proposed federal budget Monday and the laboratory has a chance to receive money for projects and research.
"The expertise and facilities are among the best in the country," he said. "It's entirely possible we'll be able to compete and win all sorts of money relating to terrorism."
