Senator Graham says he backs eliminating most tax deductions

(CBS News) On "Face the Nation," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said he supports eliminating most tax deductions, and offered more specifics than presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney did regarding his tax plan.

Graham said, "I think we should eliminate all deductions except interest on your home and charitable giving with a cap," putting him in line with some of the bipartisan proposals discussed on Capitol Hill, including the Simpson-Bowles plan.

"It's a trillion [dollars] a year we give away in deductions," Graham said, saying they should be put back in the Treasury.

On the same program, presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney said he would "limit [deductions] for high income individuals" in order to "keep the progressivity" of the tax code.

However, the former governor still gave no specifics to his plan, saying he would "go through that process with Congress."

Graham said, "We know what to do; we should do it," noting that Republicans are going to have to compromise on revenue and Democrats are going to have to compromise on the entitlement programs of Medicare and Medicaid.

"We're not going to do it without presidential leadership," Graham said, "so I hope Governor Romney and President Obama will do something before the election to show this leadership."

Former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, who also appeared on "Face the Nation," said he agreed.

"I didn't think that was a particularly unreasonable suggestion that he just made," Dean said.