The U.S. House Appropriations Committee approved a budget Tuesday that would cut $150 million from the proposed federal funding for the Honolulu rail project for the coming year.

The Obama administration had proposed $250 million in federal New Starts funding for Honolulu’s planned 20-mile rail line, and the Senate Appropriations Committee chaired by Hawaii Sen. Daniel K. Inouye included the same amount in the Senate committee draft of the budget.

However, the House committee draft of the fiscal year 2013 Transportation Housing and Urban Development bill approved Tuesday would reduce that amount to $100 million.

"It is unfortunate that my Republican colleagues on the House Appropriations Committee voted to cut funding for one of President Obama’s top transportation priorities," Inouye said of the House vote.

Inouye pledged in a news release Tuesday to work with both Democrats and Republicans in the House and the Senate to ensure Honolulu gets the funding needed to move the rail project forward.

Hawaii spent a record $4.5 billion on imported oil last year, and the state is the most oil-dependent state in the nation, Inouye said. He also noted that Honolulu recently received the "dubious distinction" of being named the most congested city in the United States, surpassing even Los Angeles, New York and Chicago.

"We have to move forward, together, to create jobs and offer our residents and visitors a much needed alternative to driving on over-congested roads, while at the same time lessening our dependence on imported fossil fuels," Inouye said.

Daniel Grabauskas, executive director of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, said HART officials were pleased to see funding for the Honolulu project included in the House draft.

"We are confident that as we move forward with the Federal Transit Administration on signing a full funding grant agreement later this year, Sen. Dan Inouye and our entire congressional delegation will work to increase the final level of funding for Honolulu and keep the project moving forward so that we can provide Oahu residents with muchneeded relief from what is now the worst traffic congestion in the country," Grabauskas said in a written statement.

The 2013 funding would be part of the $1.55 billion in federal funds the city hopes to secure to help pay for the rail project.

The Senate draft of the budget still needs approval by the full Senate, and the House draft still needs approval by the full House. House and Senate negotiators will then sit down to try to iron out the differences between the bills.

Longtime rail opponent Cliff Slater predicted Congress will not agree to provide the full $1.55 billion funding.

"There is a lot of opposition to wasting money, and in our view there is no greater waste of money than the rail project," Slater said. Oahu traffic will continue to get worse even if the $5.27 billion rail project is built, Slater said.

"I don’t think it’s possible to justify the cost-effectiveness with such a small benefit at such a huge cost," Slater said.

City officials acknowledge traffic congestion will worsen as Oahu’s population grows, but say the congestion will be even worse without rail.

Construction has already begun on the elevated rail line. The 20-mile rail line will open in segments, with the entire line from East Kapolei to Ala Moana Center scheduled to be open in 2019.