A U.S. government commission that investigates religious- freedom issues abroad will consider Sen. Ken Salazar’s request that it monitor the Air Force Academy’s religious climate, even though it appears to fall outside the group’s jurisdiction, the commission chairwoman said.
Salazar, a Colorado Democrat, asked the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom to monitor the academy’s response to recommendations spelled out in an Air Force report released Wednesday. He also suggested the group conduct its own assessment of the religious climate at the military academy.
The commission was formed by Congress in 1998 to monitor religious freedom abroad, not domestically.
But Preeta Bansal, a New York lawyer and chairwoman of the commission, said commission members will discuss and consider the request, though she acknowledged doing so could raise concerns about setting a precedent.
“Arguably, this is on the cusp of a domestic- and foreign-policy issue insofar as it affects the military,” said Bansal, an appointee of former Democratic Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle. She has been in touch with Salazar’s office.
Even if the commission decided to proceed, it would require permission from Congress to intervene.
Denver Roman Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput, who was appointed to the religious- freedom commission by President Bush in 2003, was out of the state and unable to comment on Salazar’s request, a spokesman said.
Cody Wertz, Salazar’s spokesman, said the senator sought the commission’s involvement because it consists of experts from a variety of faith groups and has weighed in on at least one other issue with domestic implications, issuing a report on people seeking asylum in the United States.
Also, Wertz said, the Pentagon report recommends outside scrutiny of the academy’s progress.
Staff writer Eric Gorski can be reached at 303-820-1698 or egorski@denverpost.com.
