If the Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency had any doubts about where lawmakers in Congress stand on grant programs run through FEMA, he certainly knows he touched the political third rail by trying to mess with a pork pipeline to the folks back home.

From the time the gavel dropped in the House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday afternoon, FEMA chief Craig Fugate was on the defensive, pinned into the corner by lamwakers from both parties who were worried about losing money for back home.

The proposed FEMA budget plan for next year has raised hackles on a variety of fronts:

An overall 4% cut in local training and readiness money
It would eliminate specific awards for local Emergency Operations Centers
Money for local firefighter grants would be cut by $200 million
Consolidates several grant programs into one larger program

"FEMA must not shy away from its leadership role in disaster management," said Subcommittee Chair Laura Richardson (D-CA), who sounded at times like she was going to go down and grab Fugate by the ear and drag him outside to the woodshed.

"This is the second year in a row that the Administration has requested a cut in the Assistance to Firefighter Grants program," said Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL).

"This cut is just indefensible," Rogers added.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the Committee Chairman, weighed in next, saying he was "alarmed" by the FEMA budget.

And that's the way it went down the committee dais, as members of both parties ripped the FEMA budget plans, worried that local emergency needs might not go funded by the federal government.

As this blog has detailed several times, firefighter grants are among the most popular funds directed to localities by the Executive Branch, and lawmakers in both parties love touting the awarding of such grants.

The same thing is true for Emergency Operations Centers - in fact, they are so popular - that Congress loves stuffing those in the budget bill for the Department of Homeland Security.

In other words, mark me down as "skeptical" about any cuts in grants from FEMA or the Department of Homeland Security.

And Mr. Fugate probably understands that too.