WASHINGTON  - Republicans have dropped efforts to block debate on the financial regulatory reform bill. That means senators can start hammering out the details on the Senate floor.

Two weeks of votes on amendments are expected. Republican Sen. Bob Corker says it could turn out to be "a real debate," and he says that "would shock America."

Republicans will take particular aim at the magnitude of consumer-protection provisions that President Barack Obama says are vital. Liberal Democrats are expected to seek to limit the size of banks.

The result is likely passage, eventually, for the most sweeping rewrite of financial rules since the Great Depression