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Fresh off a newly-brokered compromise between Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL), Senate leaders announced this evening that both sides have unanimously agreed to begin debating the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S.3217) – officially putting an end to nearly three days of legislative stalemate.

Although details of the Dodd-Shelby compromise language – which reportedly only changes provisions related to eliminating taxpayer bailouts of large and interconnected financial institutions -- have yet to be unveiled, a senior GOP aide said it amounted to “huge concessions” by the Democrats, and ultimately led to the Republicans' final decision to move debate on the broader legislation forward. The Senate made progress tonight in spite of the fact that two other major areas of contention -- derivative regulation and the powers of a newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) -- remain unresolved.

Beginning on Thursday, the amendment process will kickoff with the consideration of a Dodd-Lincoln substitute amendment.  Particular attention will be paid to the derivative language, especially whether or not a broader exemption should be provided for "end-users " and also whether or not banks will be forced to spin-off or “wall off” their swaps operations -- a proposal that is currently opposed by Republicans, the Federal Reserve, a few Democrats (including New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and Virginia's Mark Warner), and even some in the Obama Treasury Department.

Both Republicans and Democrats are expected to introduce a laundry list of amendments in what Senate Democratic leadership pledges will be an open process.