The four Representatives behind this bill are Bob Goodlatte (R-Va), Peter Welch (D-Vt), Steve Womack (R-Ark) and Jim Costa (D-Calif). If their names seem familiar, it's because they've pulled this stunt before (which, obviously, failed.) In fact, the current bill is an exact replica of a bill they proposed in 2013.  

You can read the bill here.  A common theme cited by the bill's authors for their aversion towards corn-based ethanol is that it has driven up food prices. 

We've heard these baseless allegations on countless occasions and it's quite obvious that none of these four representatives have or are bothered in checking real world data. In fact, they seem extremely comfortable in repeating Big Oil or Big Food's talking points.

Let's try to make it really simple for them. In 2008, when ethanol production was at 9.3 billion gallons, corn prices soared to $7.50 a bushel. But that was because of a severe drought. Need more proof? Ethanol production in 2014 is estimated to have closed at 14.4 billion gallons yet the average price of corn per bushel was $3.80. Moreover, with lower corn prices, have food prices come in down in tandem?

The latest World Agricultural Supply And Demand Estimates from the USDA shows corn usage for ethanol reducing a little in the current marketing year ending Aug 31, 2015. According to the report, corn use for ethanol in the 2014/15 marketing year is 5.17 billion bushels which is 33.4 percent of the total supply. In 2013/14, it was 35 percent.

But since a third of a bushel of corn that's used to produce ethanol is used to produce dried distillers grain (a high-protein animal feed), the actual corn usage for ethanol in 2014/15 is 22 percent (it was 23.5 percent in 2013/14).

Interestingly enough, one of the bill's authors, Costa, retweeted a tweet from anti-ethanol group, Smarter Fuel Future, back in mid-2014 which claimed over 40 percent of the corn supply goes to ethanol. The tweet was eventually deleted but can be found here.

It also tells us that Costa associates himself with groups like Smarter Fuel Future. Here's a refresher on some of the deceptive methods employed by that group. Costa also once co-sponsored a bill to include ethanol produced from natural gas (a finite fossil fuel) into the RFS (we should emphasize that the R in RFS stands for RENEWABLE).

There's a strong indication that this bill, like it's 2013 version, will fail. But it's also a perfect example of taxpayer dollars going to waste.