Man, lotta hate for Roberts on here. I guess it doesn't bother me because I don't think it's hypocritical to (1) recognize this project is a massive waste of money, but (2) realize there's nothing I can do to stop it so I can at least enjoy the ancillary benefit to Manhattan, KS. Then again, I'm not a senator who actually has power over appropriations.
Btw - this project won't be online until 2022. All they're building right now is the power plant to run the facility, and even the plant won't be done until 2016, I think.
Also, the dumb "Plum Island" concerns aside, the NBAF's proximity to the university was one of the major selling points of the Manhattan location. They didn't want some remote facility that was difficult for the scientists to get to. The CDC is located in downtown Atlanta right next to Emory U.