A scandal has been quietly simmering in Colorado Springs these days. No, it doesn't involve James Dobson (at least not directly). A number of people in the Air Force Academy -- including a chaplain who was fired for her complaints -- have reported that there is a high level of pro-Evangelical religious intolerance at the school. Now, in a great piece of reporting, Forward's E.J. Kessler notes that House Republicans have made a move to block assigning accountability in the case.

House Republicans have killed two measures aimed at requiring the Air Force to submit a plan for ensuring religious tolerance at its academy in Colorado Springs, Colo. The measures come in the wake of allegations of religious intolerance and coercion directed by evangelical Christians at the academy against Jews, Catholics and others.

The measures, proposed amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act, were submitted to the House Rules Committee and the House Armed Services Committee last month by Rep. Steve Israel, a New York Democrat.

[...]

In the report, Americans United [for Separation of Church and State] described "systemic and pervasive" incidents of coercion, including proselytizing by academy instructors during class, harassment of non-Christian cadets by evangelical senior cadets, exhortation of cadets by an academy chaplain to bring non-Christians to evangelical services, and preferential treatment of evangelical students, including the granting of permission to attend off-campus religious meetings.

[...]

Republicans remain dead set against any public airing of the Air Force Academy allegations, judging from the May 18 hearing of the Armed Services Committee, at which Israel's measure was killed.