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Cornyn Statement On San Antonio Selection As Finalist For National Bio And Agro-Defense Facility

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. John Cornyn made the following statement Wednesday regarding the announcement that San Antonio is among the finalists for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF):

“San Antonio’s highly skilled and diverse workforce, together with its outstanding research facilities, make it an ideal location for this facility.  I’m encouraged that the Department of Homeland Security is still considering it as a finalist. Texas has the right qualities to support NBAF, including its central location, diverse economy, strong transportation infrastructure, highly skilled workforce, and unique combination of intellectual research capacity and agriculture stakeholders. I’ll continue working with my colleagues in the Texas Congressional delegation to urge full consideration of the San Antonio site for selection of this facility.”

—Below is a letter Sens. Cornyn and Hutchison sent Secretary Chertoff on February 1, 2007—

Dear Secretary Chertoff:

We are writing to offer our support for locating the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s future National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in the State of Texas.

Texas offers a number of unique advantages that we believe make it an ideal location for the NBAF, including its central location, diverse economy, strong transportation infrastructure, highly skilled workforce, and unique combination of intellectual research capacity and agriculture stakeholders.  Currently, there are two Texas-based submissions under consideration by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — one from Texas A&M University and another from the Texas Bio & Agro-Defense Consortium in San Antonio.

Texas A&M University integrates the aspects of public and animal health research that are central to national security through internationally recognized veterinary, medical, agricultural, engineering and homeland security-related programs.  Additionally, Texas A&M has the targeted program and research mix that will enable DHS, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to fulfill the homeland defense responsibilities of research, development, testing and evaluation.  Texas A&M’s campus-based research entities are ranked in the top ten nationally with $600 million annual research expenditures, an intellectual environment of 3,628 Ph.D. scientists with vast research capabilities and more than 2.5 million square feet of research space.  The A&M commitment to support homeland security research is demonstrated with a DHS National Center of Excellence for Foreign Animal and Zoonotic Disease Defense, TAMU Integrative Center for Homeland Security and TAMUS Institute for Countermeasures Against Agricultural Bioterrorism.

The Texas Bio & Agro-Defense Consortium in San Antonio offers DHS immediate access to a number of outstanding research facilities including several from the University of Texas System, especially the University of Texas Health Science Center— one of the nation’s largest and comprehensive health sciences universities.  The Center offers a highly qualified workforce, formidable construction and operations capabilities and strong community support of the biotechnology and scientific industries.  San Antonio is also home to the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, which operates the nation’s only privately owned biosafety level 4 high containment research laboratory.  Finally, San Antonio currently supports many national security and homeland defense organizations, including 5th Army, which is the planning and operational coordinating organization for NORTHCOM’s response to disasters and homeland defense.

We believe both consortia have demonstrated they have the research capacity, strong community acceptance and critical facilities necessary to fulfill the DHS mission of implementing an integrated national bio and agro-defense strategy.  We urge your careful consideration of both proposals and look forward to the possibility of working together to ensure the success of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Texas.

Sen. Cornyn serves on the Armed Services, Judiciary and Budget Committees. In addition, he is Vice Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference and the Senate Select Committee on Ethics. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Border Security and Refugees subcommittee and the Armed Services Committee’s Airland subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.

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