U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a Washington State University (WSU) alum, attended the ribbon-cutting of the brand-new Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Plant Sciences Building on WSU’s campus. Senator Murray led the years-long fight to secure $125 million in federal funding for the building.
The newly-completed building will house ARS and WSU researchers focused on improving the health, sustainability, and profitability of dryland and irrigated agriculture in the Pacific Northwest. The building includes cutting-edge facilities for four ARS research units where scientists will focus on the health and sustainability of Pacific Northwest agroecosystems—and critical challenges facing national and global agriculture. The collaborative research between ARS and WSU will benefit growers, commodity groups, agricultural businesses, and American consumers who rely on this partnership to find solutions to agricultural and environmental problems.
“As someone who has fought for this project at every step, in every funding bill I helped write, for over twenty years now, I know it’s been a long road to today—with plenty of hurdles: from economic crises, to forced federal budget cuts, and, of course, a full-blown pandemic. At every twist and turn, I’ve been proud to lock arms with the community here at WSU and go to bat for this building and this research on the Appropriations Committee. Because in farming, in research, and in Congress, the surest path to success is the same, you need persistence, and you need patience,” Senator Murray said.
Source : senate.gov