A group of 18 U.S. representatives, including the chairmen of the House Judiciary and Rules committees, is trying to block USDA grants for installation of blender pumps that sell gasoline with a higher ethanol content than the traditional 10 percent. In a letter to leaders of the Appropriations subcommittee that writes the USDA funding bill, the lawmakers asked for a prohibition on blender-pump grants and a ban on USDA promotion of ethanol exports. Agri-Pulse quoted the letter as saying that “one of the big drivers of ethanol prices and supply is an artificial market, created by the federal government.” The ethanol trade group Growth Energy said the 2014 farm law bars grants for blender pumps, so the letter amounted to “a favor to special interests,” according to the Agri-Pulse report.