A Republican senator’s effort to add energy tax break extensions to a massive housing package has prompted Democratic leaders to put off final action on the bill until after the Fourth of July recess.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nev., said Thursday that the measure would not be finished before the break.

“Housing is going to be put over,” Reid said, adding that there will “be no amendments other than housing-related amendments to housing.”

Sen. John Ensign , R-Nev., continues to insist on adding an $8.2 billion package that would extend several expiring renewable-energy tax breaks without any offsetting revenue-raisers.

A similar tax amendment was overwhelmingly adopted when the Senate considered an earlier version of the housing package, and the parliamentarian has said the Ensign amendment would be germane to the housing measure.

Ensign has said he would use every parliamentary tool at his disposal to block consideration of the housing package if he is not allowed to offer the amendment.

Reid cannot work through the parliamentary hoops needed to overcome Ensign in the scant hours remaining before the Senate departs for its recess.

The underlying housing package — which enjoys broad bipartisan support — includes a landmark regulatory overhaul of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a $300 billion expansion of the Federal Housing Administration’s insurance programs aimed at helping borrowers refinance out of loans they can’t afford.

It also includes a modernization of the FHA and a package of housing-focused tax breaks.

Once the dispute over the Ensign amendment is resolved, the Senate is expected to pass the package with little fuss. But the House is expected to make further changes, including the addition of $2.4 billion in offsets for a chunk of the $14.5 billion housing tax package that is currently not paid for.

Overall, it is unlikely the measure will make it to the president’s desk before mid-July.