In 2012, Congress passed legislation to expand whistleblower protections for federal workers and contractors, but lawmakers rejected a provision extending the new guidelines to the intelligence and national security communities.

President Obama, who supported extending the protections, issued an executive directive that year allowing intelligence employees to disclose information free from retaliation under certain circumstances.

The president’s order permits federal intelligence employees to make disclosures without reprisal from supervisors, inspectors general and the director of national intelligence. The employees must believe they have evidence of waste, fraud, abuse, legal violations or dangers to public health or safety.

“Demands by a few key Republicans removed provisions for jury trials that Congress has provided for nearly all corporate whistleblowers, and national security reforms to prevent classified leaks through protection for those who act responsibly within government’s institutional checks and balances,” said Tom Devine, legal director of the Government Accountability Project, a whistleblower advocacy organization.

But the intelligence community and jury trial provisions aren’t going away just because they are not in the current bill. The legislative fight for those provisions will continue, and Devine called on President Obama to use his executive authority to provide greater protections for national security whistleblowers.