The National Animal Disease Center is expected to receive $50 million to build new facilities and ugrade equipment.

Funds were proposed by Senator Tom Harkin, who has helped generate over $120 million for the center in the last three years.

“I’m proud to have had another success in securing the funds needed to improve the facility and ensure it has the best equipment available,” Harkin said.

The facilities in Ames include the National Animal Disease Center, the National Veterinary Services Laboratories and the Center for Veterinary Biologics.

“The Ames animal disease facilities are a vital part of our nation’s defense against bioterrorism and the threat that disease represents to our food supply,” Harkin said.

The senator’s goals are to keep the food supply safe and to make sure that diseases aren’t spread through animals by making the Ames facilities some of the most prestigious in the world.

He hopes the Ames facilities will attract some of the best and brightest in the field of animal disease research to Ames. The senator is on the Senate Appropriations Committee and the subcommittee that funds health initiatives.

“Animal diseases cost Americans over $17 billion a year,” said Bill Burton, spokesperson for Senator Harkin.

The new facilities should aid in the fight against animal diseases, and will continue to provide many jobs for the Ames community, Burton said.

The combined area of the three facilities is now larger than five city blocks, but some of the buildings are getting old, and much of their equipment is outdated.

The Ames facilities were first established in 1905 as a result of a large outbreak of pig cholera, and were officially established as facilities of the Agricultural Research Service in 1961.

Sandy Miller Hayes, spokeswoman for agricultural research service information, is working with the Animal Disease Center, and she said they were hoping to build a larger and more modern facility.

The project to modernize the Ames facilities was started in 1999 and is estimated to cost about $340 million for the necessary upgrades.

Although the bill has not yet passed, Senator Harkin is confident there will be no problems in securing the $50 million for the Ames facilities.

The bill should be considered by the Senate shortly, and reviewed by the House sometime in June.