Patriot Act will be extended for 6 months

In a last-minute compromise before a looming expiration date, the U.S. Senate voted to extend the Patriot Act for 6 months, giving politicians more time to negotiate over reforms to its surveillance powers.

The Senate last night voted for the extension a week after its members turned down the Bush administration's proposal to renew the law for four years with limited protections for civil liberties.

Sixteen portions of the massive law, including ones dealing with Internet and electronic surveillance, were scheduled to expire on Dec. 31. The Senate overwhelmingly approved a renewal with broader reforms in July, but Republicans in the House of Representatives have refused to approve it. (The House is expected to return before Dec. 31 to agree to the extension.)

The Justice Department released a "fact sheet" saying that if those 16 portions of the Patriot Act expire, American companies will not be able to ask law enforcement to assist in disrupting and investigating a "cyber attack," and an Internet service provider that voluntarily discloses an e-mail threatening an imminent terrorist attack can be sued for doing so.

The non-profit Center for Democracy and Technology, on the other hand, countered with its own report saying that "few serious consequences will occur if the 16 provisions do sunset." Ongoing investigations can continue and many of the wiretapping sections are replicated elsewhere in federal law, the report says.