U.S. Rep. Dennis Moore, D-Kan., says he’ll fight Bush administration plans to cut support for a Lawrence laboratory that’s internationally known for its abilities to track toxic substances in water supplies.

“I’m very concerned,” Moore said. “There are other areas in the budget we should take a look at first.”

Moore, a member of the House Science Committee, on Wednesday toured the Organic Geochemistry Research Laboratory within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) complex at 4821 Quail Crest Place.

The Bush administration has proposed cutting USGS’ $205.8 million budget by $28 million, including a $14 million reduction in the service’s Toxic Substances Hydrology Program.

In the Bush proposal, work now performed by the toxic substances program would be financed by grants administered by the National Science Foundation.

The proposed budget includes $10 million for the grants, most of which would be awarded to universities.

If enacted, the shift is expected to reduce USGS spending in Kansas by about $700,000, said Walt Aucott, the service’s Kansas district chief.

“If that were to happen, the organic geochemistry laboratory would be closed,” Aucott said.

Most of the laboratory’s nine employees, he said, would be laid off.

Moore said he’ll urge his colleagues to oppose the shift.

“For the past six and a half months, the focus of Congress and the president has been on the war against terrorism and on the big-ticket items like protecting Social Security and Medicare, and the slowdown of the economy,” Moore said.

“All those things are extremely important and have to be addressed,” he said. “But in the process, we ought not to jeopardize the health and safety of American people.”

Moore said he doubted most congressmen understood the tasks performed by USGS. In Kansas, USGS is charged with monitoring most of the state’s surface-water supplies. Groundwater supplies are monitored by the Kansas Geological Survey.