Topeka ? A spending bill approved by the U.S. Senate contains $36 million for the construction of a new biosecurity laboratory in Kansas.

Sen. Sam Brownback said Friday that he will work to make sure that House and Senate negotiators include the money in the final version of homeland security appropriations.

Brownback, a Republican, is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The House version of the bill doesn’t contain the money.

The National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility lab would be built at Kansas State University, in Manhattan. It would replace an aging facility at Plum Island, N.Y.

A spokeswoman for Sen. Pat Roberts, also a Republican, said he’s pleased with the Senate’s decision as well.