House Committees Reject Pressuring AF Academy on Discrimination

After weeks of reports about religious harassment of non-Christian cadets at the U.S. Air Force Academy (see prior postings 1, 2, 3, 4), attempts by New York Rep. Steve Israel to get Congress to require the Academy to submit a plan to assure religious toleration have been defeated in committee. The Forward reports in its edition dated June 3 that proposed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act were voted down at a May 23 vote of the House Rules Committee. Backers of the amendments were troubled by statements at a May 18 Armed Services Committee hearing at which some representatives suggested that the real problem was "political correctness" interfering with rights of Christians. North Carolina Representative Walter Jones said that some evangelical Christians feel they are not being promoted because of their faith and Christian chaplains are not being permitted to conduct prayers referring to Jesus.