The Securities and Exchange Commission has extended the short selling emergency orders it issued in mid-September to give Congress more time to pass legislation to implement a massive financial rescue plan.

The Commission’s announcement came following the Senate’s Oct. 1 passage, in a 74-25 vote, of a beefed-up version of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. The Senate move followed the Sept. 29 House defeat of an earlier version of the bill, which sent the already jittery capital markets into a tailspin. House lawmakers are expected to vote on the revised bill on Friday.

Meanwhile, the SEC emergency order that created a temporary ban on short selling in financial companies will now expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on the third business day after enactment of the legislation, but no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on Oct. 17, 2008. The order temporarily easing restrictions on the ability of securities issuers to repurchase their securities will also be extended to Oct. 17.

The SEC is also extending two other temporary requirements that it intends to make permanent. The temporary requirement that institutional money managers report to the SEC their new short sales of certain publicly traded securities, and the hard T+3 close-out requirement for naked short selling and penalties for violation, including prohibition of further short sales without mandatory pre-borrow, will also be extended to 11:59 p.m. ET on Oct. 17, 2008. The SEC said those order will continue as interim final rules while it seeks comments to make them final.