Patriot Act filibuster

The showdown on the Patriot Act Conference report is in progress.

Republican and Democratic opponents of the bill are calling for a temporary three month extension of the Patriot Act so that more work can be done on it to protect civil liberties. So far, one vote to invoke cloture has failed 52-47 (60 votes are required to cut off debate). Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist voted against cloture only so that he could bring the matter up again under Senate rules.