What's the term for a group of weasels?

Congress.

http://www.reason.com/hod/db122305.shtml

Whether you’ve gotten a card or not, rest assured that Alaska thanks you
for the $454 million Christmas present. Remember those “bridges to
nowhere” that were finally taken out of the federal budget? Well,
they’re back.

You may recall the highway bill that Congress passed in July. It was the
biggest porkfest in history -- more than 13,000 individual projects
awarded federal tax dollars in an orgy of logrolling and back-
scratching. Among the most notorious projects were two bridges in
Alaska, dubbed the “bridges to nowhere.” The bill included $223 million
for a bridge linking Gravina Island to the town of Ketchikan in Alaska.
According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, federal taxpayers will
eventually pay $315 million for this bridge. Here’s the deal: Ketchikan
is a town of 8,000 people (13,000 in the whole county, and population is
declining). Its airport is on the nearby Gravina Island. Right now you
have to take a 7-minute ferry ride from the airport to the town. To save
people that 7-minute ride, Alaska wants to build a $315 million bridge.

The highway bill also awarded Alaska $231 million for the Knik Arm
Bridge, which was renamed “Don Young’s Way” in honor of Rep. Don Young
(R-Alaska), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee and master porkbearer. According to the Alaska Wilderness
League, “Construction of the Knik Arm Bridge would connect the city of
Anchorage to hundreds of square miles of unpopulated wetlands to the
north. Preliminary cost estimates for the bridge are upwards of $2
billion.”

But then Hurricane Katrina changed things. In the wake of the
devastation of the Gulf Coast and demands for massive federal spending
there, critics said Congress should revisit the highway bill and
transfer some of the more outrageous spending to Katrina relief. The
bridges to nowhere came in for special criticism, with fiscal
conservatives and Katrina relief advocates joining forces to insist that
the bridge funding be revoked.

It got so bad that Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), chairman of the
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, roared, “If the
Senate decides to discriminate against our state . . . I will resign
from this body." Taxpayer advocates could only pray that he would keep
his word.

And sure enough, Congress acted. Headlines across the country echoed
this one in the New York Times: “Two 'Bridges to Nowhere' Tumble Down in
Congress.” The Times story began, “Congressional Republicans decided
Wednesday to take a legislative wrecking ball to two Alaskan bridge
projects that had demolished the party's reputation for fiscal
austerity.”

Good news indeed. Except – Ted Stevens didn’t resign from Congress. Why
not? Because it was all a show, just smoke and mirrors. Congress removed
the requirement that Alaska use the money for the bridges to nowhere.
But the state still got the money – a $454 million blank check.