WASHINGTON — Moving to reverse decades of limited federal oversight, the Senate voted yesterday to make sweeping changes to the government’s system of regulating toys, appliances, and thousands of other household products.

The 79–13 vote could lead to a major expansion of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and stiffer penalties for companies that manufacture and distribute hazardous products. And it may mean broad new public access to information about potentially dangerous products before they are recalled.

“This bill is the most significant product safety reform measure in recent history,” the director of product safety at the Consumer Federation of America, Rachel Weintraub, said. “Americans have been waiting for this solution to our broken product safety system.”

Manufacturers and retailers last year recalled more than 400 products, including millions of Chinese-made toys that contained lead paint, dangerous magnets, or other hazards.

The recalls sparked an intense effort on Capitol Hill to strengthen the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has long had fewer investigative and enforcement tools than other federal regulatory agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Senate Democrats worked for months to build GOP support for increased federal oversight in the face of stiff industry resistance to new regulation. The bill won the support of 33 Republicans, the two independents, and 44 Democrats. Thirteen GOP lawmakers voted against the bill, which some called a gift to trial attorneys. “Lawsuits as far as the eye can see,” Senator Inhofe, a Republican from Oklahoma, said. Senators Clinton, McCain, and Obama missed the vote. The vote sets the stage for potentially difficult talks as Senate leaders work with their House counterparts to reconcile the differences between the bills approved by the two chambers.