Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and legislative leaders will travel to Washington, D.C., next week to lobby for funding for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, and national designation for the Kansas University Cancer Center.

Senate President Steve Morris, R-Hugoton, noted that a year ago, Kansas elected leaders appeared in force to talk with U.S. Homeland Security officials about bringing NBAF to Kansas.

Kansas eventually won the high-stakes competition for the biosecurity lab, and Morris said he thinks the show of political unity during last year’s meeting had something to do with that.

“That made an impression. We don’t want that momentum to die,” he said Friday.

And although Homeland Security has proposed building the $450 million NBAF in Manhattan on the campus of Kansas State University, Congress has yet to appropriate funds for the project. NBAF will conduct research on deadly plant and animal diseases.

Morris said the Kansas contingent, including the state’s congressional delegation and leaders of the Kansas Bioscience Authority, will discuss with Homeland Security officials the possibility of starting federal research at K-State’s existing Bioscience Research Institute while NBAF is under construction.

House Democratic Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence will be among the group visiting D.C. “We want to firm up NBAF and talk about NCI designation,” he said.

The KU Cancer Center is working on getting designation from the National Cancer Institute. The designation will increase cancer research and treatment at the center, according to officials.

The Kansas group also plans to meet with federal agriculture and energy leaders, and key congressional budget representatives.

Davis said the meetings will be over Monday and Tuesday. Also attending will be House Speaker Mike O’Neal, R-Hutchinson, and Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka.