Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Senate, in a rebuff to its Republican leaders and President George W. Bush, refused to clear the way for renewal of the anti-terror USA Patriot Act.

The Senate fell seven votes short of shutting off a filibuster that threatens to block an extension of much of the law, including expanded power for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Bush has called for approval of the measure, saying it is vital in preventing terrorist attacks.

The vote was the second legislative setback for Bush in as many days. Yesterday, Bush reversed course and accepted a ban on torture crafted by Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican.

Today's development left in doubt the immediate future of the Patriot Act, which was enacted soon after the Sept. 11 attacks. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee insisted he wasn't giving up and repeated his opposition to a three-month extension of the act.

``The debate will continue on this very important bill,'' he said. ``We will not see a short-term extension.''

Frist said he and Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, will use the next 24 to 48 hours before Congress wraps up its session to change the minds of senators who refused to shut off the filibuster. Still, Specter sounded skeptical, telling reporters, ``It's pretty hard for public opinion to gel overnight or over the weekend.''

60 Votes

Democratic leaders and some Republicans spearheaded the drive to sustain a filibuster, a parliamentary maneuver that allows endless debate. Republicans control the Senate by a 55-45 margin, and it takes 60 votes to overcome a filibuster.

The official vote on the filibuster-ending motion was 52-47. Frist had cast the 53rd vote in favor of ending debate but switched sides at the end to preserve his options under Senate rules that permit another vote. Four other Republicans voted to support the filibuster.

In a Washington news conference afterward, Specter said that today's publication by the New York Times of a story that Bush authorized eavesdropping without a court-authorized warrant on American citizens and foreign nationals in the U.S. following the Sept. 11 attacks had a ``devastating'' impact on the vote's outcome.

``It was mentioned again and again and again'' by senators who voted against ending debate, Specter said.

Wisconsin Senator Feingold, who led the filibuster, disagreed, saying, ``The die was cast well before the story came out this morning.''

Undermine Confidence

Still, Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein of California said the newspaper's account of eavesdropping without warrants on international telephone calls and e-mails originating in the U.S. will undermine public confidence in the Patriot Act.

``How can any member of this body go out and say under the Patriot Act we protect the rights of American citizens if, in fact, the president is not going to be bound by the law,'' Feinstein said.

Democratic leader Harry Reid said the proposed Patriot Act extension, a compromise worked out by Republican congressional leaders to reconcile House and Senate versions, doesn't provide enough judicial oversight of the FBI. Shutting off the filibuster would have put the measure in position for Senate passage.

``The United States Senate should work harder to achieve a strong bipartisan agreement on the Patriot Act,'' said Reid, of Nevada. The legislation ``does not contain enough checks on the expanded power of government,'' he said.

`Retreat'

Frist accused Democrats opposing the proposal of advocating ``retreat'' in the war on terror. ``The Patriot Act expires on Dec. 31, but the terrorist threat does not,'' Frist said. ``We have a clear choice: Do we advance against terrorism to make America safer or do we retreat to the days before Sept. 11 when terrorists slipped through the cracks.''

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales issued a statement that said delaying approval of the act ``compromised'' national security.

Feingold said it was ``shameful to suggest'' that lawmakers seeking changes in the bill want the Patriot Act to expire. ``That would only happen if the proponents block alternative reauthorization that can easily pass,'' he said. ``Now is not the time for brinksmanship or threats.''

Republicans must now decide on the next step to prevent key provisions of the law from expiring at year's end. Lawmakers are planning to adjourn for the year within the next few days.

Reid supports a plan introduced by a bipartisan group Dec. 12 to extend the current Patriot Act for three months. Scott McClellan, a White House spokesman, said today that Bush wouldn't sign such an extension.

`Standing in the Way'

``The time for Democrats to stop standing in the way has come,'' McClellan said. ``The president calls on the leaders of both parties to start putting the safety of the American people above politics.''

``We are not trying to end the Patriot Act. We are trying to mend it,'' said Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, who called on Bush and the Republicans to seek a compromise.

At a political rally after the vote, Reid told a cheering crowd, ``We killed the Patriot Act.'' Reid said Republicans are refusing to extend the law because ``they wanted the political issue.''

Spokesman Jim Manley said Reid's comment wouldn't leave Democrats open to Republican claims they were endangering national security. ``Of course he supports the Patriot Act, he is just opposed to a bad Patriot Act,'' Manley said in an e-mail.

Senator John Sununu of New Hampshire, one of the four Republicans seeking to change the measure, said it would be ``very sensible'' for the Republican leadership to seek an agreement.

House Vote

The House passed the Patriot Act renewal on Dec. 14 by a vote of 251-174.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers said congressional leaders were likely to agree on some extension of the law.

When asked if the extension would be three months, Senator Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican who supports the Patriot Act legislation, smiled and said, ``How about two?''

Opponents of the measure say it gives the FBI unchallenged authority to request business, library or medical records for counterterrorism investigations. They are also seeking more judicial review of so-called national security letters, which the FBI can issue to request records.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeff Bliss in Washington at jbliss@bloomberg.net; James Rowley in Washington at jarowley@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 16, 2005 16:13 EST