It will be used to update and modernize its USDA research laboratories.
Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski says legislation which passed the Senate Appropriations Committee has $64.3-million for Fort Detrick in Frederick.
In a statement from her office, Mikulski says the money from the Agriculture, Rural, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies bill will be provided to the US Agriculture Department’s research labs at the Army installation. The Agricultural Research Service conducts research on foreign plant pathogens which could pose a threat to American agriculture.
“This bill is a jobs bill, supporting thousands of Maryland jobs,” said Senator Mikulski, in a statement. “Maryland’s number one industry is agriculture. Scientists and researchers at this federal laboratory at Fort Detrick are conducting cutting-edge research to develop solutions in food safety and farming, protecting against plant diseases and pathogens. Together, our farmers and small businesses, those who work on Maryland’s farms and in federal labs, universities and other research facilities, are supporting our economic future and keeping our nation healthy and safe. This funding will help ensure that the Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Laboratory has modern, up-to-date facilities to carry out its important mission, protecting our nation’s food supply.”
The Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Laboratory is operated by the US Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service located at Fort Detrick.
Mikulski’s office says a study of the ARS’s facilities at Fort Detrick has identified a number of deficiencies in the containment facility, greenhouse complex, and other offices. This money, according to Mikulski, will enlarge the laboratories to accommodate growing research needs.
The bill will move to the full Senate for a vote. No date has been scheduled.
The legislation now moves to the full Senate for a vote.