Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 9/20/19

Senators on Thursday advanced their fiscal 2020 Agriculture-FDA spending bill, totaling $23.1 billion in discretionary funds, Liz reports. The full Senate Appropriations Committee hasn't yet set a date for a markup.

Relocation redux: The draft measure would provide $25 million for USDA to uproot the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture out of Washington, setting Senate Republicans on a collision course with House Democrats. The House-passed version would block Secretary Sonny Perdue from making the move — even though the relocation is already underway and a final appropriations bill is unlikely to be signed for months.

Hemp hype: The bill would also include $16.5 million for USDA to implement rules for industrial hemp production, which was legalized by the new farm bill, and it would direct the Farm Credit Administration to offer services for hemp growers and businesses.

What else is in the bill? An amendment that would direct Perdue to provide guidance for school lunch operators to address "lunch shaming" and language that would require USDA to finish its origin of livestock rulemaking to close a loophole in the organics program.