The head of the Senate Banking Committee unveiled his long-awaited bill to toughen oversight of the Federal Reserve and ease the regulatory burden on dozens of banks, setting off what could be intense negotiations with Democrats.

In legislation that Senator Richard Shelby calls a "work in progress," he laid out ideas to make the Fed disclose more information to Congress about its monetary-policy decisions and free some lenders from stringent capital requirements. While the bill is unlikely to win broad support in its current form, many of the proposals could intrigue Democrats who've backed some of the ideas in the past.

The bill would mark the biggest revamp of the Dodd-Frank Act since its 2010 enactment and is also Shelby's signature legislative effort this year. Getting it through Congress will set the tone for the remainder of his chairmanship, giving the Alabama Republican an incentive to work with Sherrod Brown, the ranking Democrat on the banking panel, analysts said.