A decade after the federal government rescued the first of many faltering financial firms, the Senate voted on Wednesday to pass legislation that would relax restrictions on large parts of the banking industry, representing the most significant changes to the rules that were put in place after the 2008 financial crisis.

In a rare showing of bipartisanship, the Senate voted 67 to 31 to pass the bill, which is intended to help small- and medium-size banks but which critics say is a dangerous rollback of financial regulations intended to prevent another meltdown.

The legislation faces an uncertain fate going forward, as House Republicans are expected to push for a much more expansive rollback of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. Senate Democrats who voted for the bill that passed on Wednesday have insisted that major changes along the lines of what the House passed last year will sink the effort but expressed hope that the legislation could herald a return to the kind of cooperation that has recently eluded Congress.

“This legislative package is an example of what we can achieve by working together and shows Democrats and Republicans can break the gridlock,” said Senator Joe Donnelly, Democrat of Indiana.