Washington ? Republicans offered a weaker alternative to consumer protection measures that are central to President Barack Obama’s Wall Street regulation plan, opening a new front Wednesday in the Senate debate over how to rein in financial institutions.

The Senate pivoted straight into that confrontation after reaching a compromise on how to dismantle large failing firms. In that agreement, senators voted 93-5 to eliminate a contentious $50 billion fund that would have been used to pay for a firm’s liquidation.

The Senate also voted 96-1 to protect taxpayers from losses. But the government would still have to put money up front to cover the costs of a firm’s orderly dissolution. That money would be recovered through the sale of the failed firm’s assets and by forcing shareholders and creditors to take substantial losses.