Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 5/23/18

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), chairman of the Senate appropriations agriculture subcommittee, said Tuesday that some of the historically nettlesome issues have been resolved before the full committee markup later this week.

The question of whether to ban horse slaughter -- a mainstay of ag appropriations markups -- has been worked out, Hoeven said, without elaborating. He also said that there's agreement on Sen. Lisa Murkowski's desire to address the GMO labeling of salmon and other fish.

"We have some language," Hoeven said, noting it would likely be similar to the House provision (which ensures that the fish will be labeled in accordance with the 2016 GMO disclosure law Congress.)

Ag approps advances: The Senate appropriations subcommittee on agriculture advanced its fiscal 2019 spending bill Tuesday by unanimous consent. The bill provides $23.235 billion in discretionary funding for a wide variety of programs under the subcommittee's jurisdiction, including USDA and FDA — which is $225 million above the 2018 enacted levels. The full committee will mark up the bill on Thursday.