Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 5/25/18

A Senate spending bill sent to the full chamber Thursday provides $23.235 billion in discretionary funding for a host of programs administered by USDA and FDA, which is $225 million above fiscal 2018 enacted levels. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a pep talk at the hearing on Thursday morning that he wants to move quickly in getting spending bills to the floor and aims to consider some in June. Here's a breakdown of how the bill would direct funds in certain areas:

— Research: Ag research would receive $2.73 billion in discretionary funds, and the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative would see a $5 million bump. The committee recommended that the Agricultural Research Service look into specific areas of study, such as advancements in alfalfa and cranberry yields, aquaculture seedstock, and efforts to fight citrus greening disease, along with hiring a geneticist for the Atlantic salmon breeding program.

The committee also spelled out a concern about USDA using cats in "painful and terminal laboratory experiments" in studying animal parasitic diseases. Lawmakers asked USDA to investigate other means of experiments without cats and to adopt out cats no longer needed for science. That recommendation comes as the White Coat Waste Project, a right-leaning advocacy group, revealed that USDA conducts experiments in which kittens are infected with a parasite and later euthanized.

— Conservation: The Natural Resources Conservation Service would get $879.1 million, which is $5 million above fiscal 2018 levels. The bill also maintains funding for the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations Program. The committee asked that NRCS provide an update on staffing levels at its offices across the country, including on vacancies, because it's "concerned that unfulfilled state-level positions are creating delays in application approval and the deployment of important conservation funding."

— Organics: Funding for the National Organic Program would increase to $15 million, from $12 million. The committee took note of the rapidly expanding popularity of organic products and recommended that USDA's Economic Research Service expand its research into data analysis of the production, pricing and marketing of organic products.

— Mental health: The bill would furnish $2 million for a pilot program to provide competitive grants to address farmer stress and suicide, citing the elevated rate of suicide among agricultural workers.

The committee unanimously approved a manager's package that added language to the legislation to address a range of issues. One provision would effectively ban horse slaughter by forbidding that funding be devoted to USDA horse slaughterhouses. 

Another provision, from Sen. Dick Durbin, would direct the FDA to establish rules to prevent internet sales of e-cigarettes to minors.