Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 11/20/18

USDA and FDA ended their turf war over cell-cultured meat by announcing they have agreed to split up jurisdiction of the burgeoning industry — but the issue has not been fully resolved. Some members of Congress haven't yet backed off from their efforts to dictate regulatory control of the products, Helena Bottemiller Evich reports this morning.

A rider tucked into next year's agriculture spending bill would mandate that USDA lead oversight of cell-based products. The White House had urged the Hill to drop the provision and leave it up to USDA and FDA to figure it out, but lawmakers have not backed down. Appropriators have until Dec. 7 to pass the ag spending package for fiscal 2019.

'Talk is cheap': Some lawmakers, such as Rep. Robert Aderholt , who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture, are holding firm. The Alabama Republican wants to learn more about what the divided jurisdiction would look like before making a call on whether to jettison the rider, a spokesperson told Helena.

"As I have seen over the years when jurisdictional battles brew, that talk is cheap when written words matter," the spokesperson said.

On the Senate side, John Hoeven , head of the Appropriations panel on agriculture, is also gathering more information to "ensure that the agreement works," according to his spokesperson. Livestock groups have aggressively pushed for USDA to take the lead in regulation, and Hoeven took heat previously for not strongly supporting the rider from the start.