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WASHINGTON—A key senator postponed action Thursday on a homeowner rescue package that could help half a million strapped borrowers get government-backed mortgages, as negotiators inched toward a bipartisan deal.

The delay on the action until next week clouded the prospects of an emerging compromise between Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., the Banking Committee Chairman, and Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the panel’s senior Republican. It also highlighted the tricky political calculations involved in reaching a bipartisan housing deal in an election year when the two parties are competing intensely to appeal to voters who cite the economy as their top concern.

Dodd and Shelby said Thursday that they were near agreement, but after hours of stop-and-start haggling, particularly over how to pay for the plan, Dodd canceled a committee session to vote on the measure. Also at issue was how tightly to regulate government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.