John Sigler, a delegate from Delaware, said platform backing for the mortgage-interest deduction would be "a very important policy statement" of the party's commitment to "supporting the middle class" and "the uplifting of those that would like to enter the middle class" through homeownership.
Kevin Erickson, a delegate from Minnesota, countered that exempting the deduction would undermine the party's push for a rewrite of the tax code.
"Comprehensive tax reform means the entire thing," Erickson said "If it's a fair, flat tax, we don't need the deduction."
The plank calling for the constitutional amendment banning abortions in all circumstances, including pregnancies caused by rape and when the life of the mother is endangered, is the same as in the party's 2004 and 2008 platforms.
"I applaud the committee's work in affirming our respect for human life will continue," Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, the chairman of the platform panel, told delegates after that section of the document was formally adopted today.
'Granularity' Not Needed
Asked yesterday about exceptions to the abortion ban, McDonnell said "that's not the level of granularity you are going to see in this platform" because "those are issues generally addressed on a state-by-state basis."
The issue has been spotlighted after Todd Akin, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Missouri, said in an Aug. 19 television interview that one reason abortion shouldn't be allowed in rape cases is that pregnancy was unlikely to result. Akin, a U.S. House member, has since apologized, saying "I used the wrong words in the wrong way." Party leaders are calling for him to withdraw from the Senate race.
In a departure from past Republican policy, the platform panel's economy subcommittee included a provision calling for an annual audit of the Fed, which regulates banks and sets interest rates.
Romney said yesterday that "the Federal Reserve should be accountable" so he "would like to see the Fed audited" in a way that preserves its independence. He hasn't endorsed legislation the House passed last month to have the Government Accountability Office, a watchdog of Congress, audit the Fed, including monetary policy deliberations.
Appropriate Flexibility
McDonnell told reporters the passage is drafted to ensure that the annual audit would be conducted "with the appropriate flexibility that it does not impair the independence of the Federal Reserve." McDonnell said that "many of us believe" that, when "there is more sunshine and more accountability, it is a good idea."