WASHINGTON, Dec 17: A group of US senators, demanding increased protection of civil liberties, defied President George Bush on Friday by blocking renewal of the USA Patriot Act, a centrepiece of his ‘war on terrorism’.

A showdown bid to end debate and move to passage of renewal legislation fell eight votes short of the needed 60 in the 100-member Senate. The vote was 52-47, with a handful of Republicans joining most Democrats in a procedural roadblock.

Mr Bush replied: “The senators who are filibustering the Patriot Act must stop their delaying tactics so that we are not without this critical law for even a single moment.”

The Patriot Act was first passed after the Sept 11, 2001, attacks to expand the authority of the federal government on such fronts as information sharing, obtaining private records and conducting secret searches and roving wiretaps in its effort to track down suspected terrorists.

Approved earlier this week by the House of Representatives, the renewal legislation would make permanent 14 provisions set to expire on Dec 31, and extend three others for four years.

Senate Democratic and Republican foes of this legislation said despite increased judicial and congressional oversight contained in it, the government would still have too much power to pry into the lives of law-abiding Americans.

But they said expiring provisions could be swiftly renewed if lawmakers agreed to better balance national security with civil liberties.

“None of us wants it to expire, and those who threaten to let it expire rather than fix it are playing a dangerous game,” said Sen Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.

Sen Leahy and others again offered to renew expiring provisions as now written for three months to give both sides time to resolve differences. But congressional Republicans leaders rejected it, and so did the White House.

“The president’s made it very clear that he is not interested in signing any short-term renewal,” said White House spokesman Scott McClellan. “The terrorist threats will not expire at the end of this year. They won’t expire in three months. We need to move forward and pass this critical legislation.”

The Senate showdown over the Patriot Act occurred as the US Congress sought to wrap up its work for the year and go home for the holidays.

Fifty Republicans and two Democrats unsuccessfully voted to end debate on the renewal legislation; five Republicans, one independent and 41 Democrats blocked it.—Reuters