House Republican leaders on Thursday narrowly defused a revolt within their ranks that would have killed lobby and ethics legislation, but then delayed a final vote on the package until next week.

The legislation still faces broad opposition from Democrats and a handful of Republican moderates who say the legislation falls short of what Congress needs to remove the stain of scandal rising from criminal convictions for influence-peddling.

The legislative package restricts some congressional travel, requires more frequent public disclosure of lobbying activity and forces public identification of sponsors of special-interest “earmarks” inserted into spending bills.

A defeat would have been an embarrassing setback for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. Both vowed to tackle ethics in the wake of guilty pleas for corruption by Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff and former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, R-Calif.

Allegations also have spilled into Democratic ranks. Rep. Alan Mollohan, D-W.Va., had to step down recently as the top Democrat on the House ethics committee after publicity stirred controversy over spending provisions that he’d inserted into legislation benefiting his friends and business associates.

House Republican appropriators, the lawmakers who draft spending bills, had threatened to vote against the legislation because they objected to its restrictions on “earmarks,” the special spending items that members of Congress routinely insert into appropriations bills to benefit constituents.