(last word) in 2011, congress funded a sanctuary for white squirrels, a giant roadside coffee pot, and an antique bicycle museum. this is an example of:

This is an example of: pork barrel politics.
pork barrel politics refers to the strategy taken by the Government in order to bring money/wealth to a representative district by allocating their spending into Localized projects.
In the election, this strategy often used to gain financial advantage over the opposition.