WASHINGTON — House Republicans have abruptly canceled a committee vote on a plan to help Puerto Rico deal with its $70 billion debt in the face of conservative opposition.

A vote on the bill had been scheduled for Thursday.

Obama administration officials warned Wednesday that the island is facing financial collapse if Congress doesn’t step in. Republicans agree on the urgency of the matter, but face opposition from their own caucus.

Legislation released by the House Natural Resources Committee this week would create a control board and allow it to facilitate some court-ordered debt restructuring, though it would not give the island the broad bankruptcy authority its officials had sought.

Several Republicans had objected to the debt restructuring, saying it’s a bad precedent.

House Republicans struggled to rally support for the control board.

‘‘Unfortunately, because the situation has gotten so dire, broad reforms are required now,’’ said the committee’s chairman, Utah Republican Rob Bishop.

GOP lawmakers have tried to satisfy Puerto Rico’s government, creditors, and conservative members of their caucus. Democrats and Puerto Rican officials have worried that the new board would have too much power, prompting echoes of colonialism. At the same time, some conservatives have objected to the debt restructuring.

Speaker Paul Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, endorsed the legislation.

‘‘Congress has a constitutional and financial responsibility to bring order to the chaos that is unfolding in the US territory — chaos that could soon wreak havoc on the American bond market,’’ Ryan said.

Committee Republicans said a strong control board is necessary to get the island’s economy back on track. But they said they were aiming to avoid a colonialist approach.

The committee consulted with Anthony Williams, who as District of Columbia mayor worked with a similar control board in the 1990s. Williams said ‘‘many of the principles that made DC’s board successful are also key elements of the Puerto Rican oversight legislation.’’

An earlier draft introduced by the committee in March met objections from all sides.

The new version would increase the size of the control board to seven seats from five, with the two added members picked by the minority party in the House and Senate — a clear enticement to Democrats who have opposed the bill. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California said the earlier version of the bill would exert ‘‘undue and undemocratic control’’ over Puerto Rico.

In an attempt to satisfy conservatives, the new draft would give creditors more of a say on debt plans, allowing them a preliminary vote on whether they wanted to voluntarily restructure debt.

The House Republican Study Committee, a group of about 170 conservatives, had expressed concerns about the debt restructuring provisions in the first draft. Texas Republican Bill Flores said members ‘‘are encouraged that there appear to be some improvements.’’

Still, several Republicans expressed concern about the debt restructuring.

‘‘I believe we’re going down a slippery slope here,’’ said Representative Jeff Duncan of South Carolina.

Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico’s nonvoting representative in Congress, praised Bishop and the sponsor of the bill, Representative Sean Duffy, Republican of Wisconsin, for eliminating language that would have allowed the board to issue some rules and regulations as if it were Puerto Rico’s government.

Treasury Department official Antonio Weiss said prompt action was needed because Puerto Rico is in distress. But he said the administration is concerned that allowing creditors to vote on debt restructuring could delay the process.

The White House press secretary, Josh Earnest, said the administration is confident a solution can be reached, but added that the creditors ‘‘are almost by definition rich and powerful people who have a clear financial interest in getting a deal that reflects their financial interest and not the interest of the 3.5 million people living in Puerto Rico.’’

Earnest added, ‘‘Overcoming that dynamic is something that will be challenging for Congress to do.’’