WASHINGTON - House Republicans, warning of an attack on fundamental American values,’ yesterday berated a small group of lawmakers proposing that the Boy Scouts’ federal charter be revoked because of the organization’s policy toward gays.

Democrats accused the GOP majority of a political stunt in bringing a bill with no chance of passage to the floor.

While the outcome of the vote’ today is not in doubt, the issue renewed the debate over the relationship between the Boy Scouts and the federal government rising out of the group’s stance on excluding homosexuals.

The bill’s chief sponsor, Rep. Lynn Woolsey, Democrat of California, said she was a Girl Scout and one of her sons was a Boy Scout. “We’re not saying the Boy Scouts are bad; we’re saying that intolerance is bad.”

“I know the value of scouting, and that’s why I believe scouting should be available to all boys, not just to some boys,” said Woolsey, the only Democrat to speak in favor of the legislation.

In contrast, one Republican after another rose in opposition. “It’s an attack on the fundamental values of America,” said Rep. Chris Cannon, Republican of Utah, led by “a small group of extremists on the minority side.”

“They truly ought to be ashamed,” said Rep. Bob Barr, Republican of Georgia, of the “denigration and assault on the Boy Scouts of America.”

House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Republican of Texas, said in a statement that he brought the bill to the floor without hearings or a committee vote “to demonstrate the lack of support for those who have declared open season on the Boy Scouts.”

The Boy Scouts of America got its federal charter in 1916, six years after it was founded. It is one of about 90 groups with such designation. While it confers no specific benefits, receiving a federal charter is a mark of prestige and national recognition for a group.

The Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision in June upheld the Boy Scouts’ ban on homosexuals serving as troop leaders. That ruling may also give legal backing to 6.2 million-member organization’s rejection of gay youths as members.

The Scouts asserted that homosexual conduct is inconsistent with the values it seeks to instill.