Topeka ? House Speaker Melvin Neufeld said Friday that Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ criticisms of President Bush’s fiscal proposals could hurt Kansas’ efforts to land a national security laboratory.

“I’m worried about what that might do” to Kansas in the contest to win the $450 million National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, Neufeld, R-Ingalls, said.

But Sebelius’ office said the decision about where to locate the NBAF would be based on the merits of the Kansas proposal, not politics. Six sites, including Kansas State University, are in the running for the research lab that will focus on potential food supply threats.

After returning earlier this week from the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C., Sebelius, a Democrat, criticized Bush over his proposed budget and economic stimulus package.

She said that most U.S. governors believe the Bush budget proposal for the next fiscal year is the worst that states have “seen in the years that President Bush has been president.”

On Friday, Sebelius released a detailed report on reductions to Kansas under the Bush budget. Those include reductions of $15 million for transportation funds, $10.6 million for Medicaid and $4.6 million for social services.

In addition, an accelerated depreciation deduction for businesses under the economic stimulus plan will short state coffers $87 million, according to the Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas’ tax revenue is affected because it links that portion of its tax code to the federal government’s tax code, the revenue agency said.

Neufeld also noted the dispute between Sebelius and the White House after last year’s tornado in Greensburg. Sebelius had said a lack of National Guard equipment, which had been diverted to Iraq, would slow recovery efforts – a charge that Republicans denied.

“There are ways to criticize the president without being insulting,” Neufeld said.

But Sebelius’ office said her comments were not out of line.

“The president has a job to do as do governors,” Sebelius spokeswoman Nicole Corcoran said.

“Gov. Sebelius will continue working to draw attention to issues that demand it – like a shortage of equipment for National Guard, or drastic cuts to Medicaid and law enforcement grant programs,” she said.

Corcoran noted that although Sebelius was critical about the National Guard equipment issue, she praised federal agencies for their response to storm disasters in Kansas.