President Bush has rescinded his veto threat against a comprehensive housing package, with the White House saying the measure is too urgent to risk a fight that could delay its enactment.

The House is expected to pass the legislation Wednesday. It includes a lifeline for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac proposed by the administration, along with a number of provisions designed to help struggling homeowners stave off foreclosure.

The bill also would create a one-time $7,500 credit for first-time homebuyers and a deduction for property taxes of up to $500 for single filers and $1,000 for joint filers for taxpayers who do not itemize.

The Senate is expected to take up the bill shortly after the House acts, with a final vote by the end of this week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., acknowledged that some Republicans might try to derail the bill. “I don’t think it can be derailed,” Reid said. “You can slow it up a little bit. I hope we can finish it.”

One Republican critic, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina said: “If they’re going to send us bad policy ... we’re at least going to have the 30 hours of debate.... To say that we’ve got to pass it in 10 minutes on the floor without reading it, which is what they’re going to ask us to do, that’s not going to happen.”

But momentum for the bill was clearly building.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., and ranking panel Republican Richard C. Shelby of Alabama gave their blessing to the package Wednesday. They have spent weeks hammering out a deal with House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass.

The administration also threw its full weight behind the measure.

“While this bill should have been improved, the temporary Treasury authorities and GSE [government sponsored enterprise] reform provisions are too important to the stability of our nation’s housing market, financial system, and the broader economy not to be enacted immediately,” the White House said in a Statement of Administration Policy.