President Obama and congressional Republicans are planning last-ditch talks in a bid to reach a deal before Friday’s sequester deadline. The impasse centers around Republican opposition to Obama’s call for ending tax loopholes favoring the wealthy. Speaking to the Business Council in Washington, Obama gave a nod to Republicans in acknowledging he’s willing to cut social spending in return for ending tax breaks.

President Obama: “Democrats have to accept the need for entitlement reform, but it also means that Republicans have to accept the need for additional revenues if we’re going to be able to actually close this deficit and provide the kind of certainty that you need to make your long-term investments. I think it was Winston Churchill who once said that Americans always do the right thing after they’ve exhausted every other possibility. And we’re getting to the point where we’ve now exhausted every other possibility.”

The Senate is expected to vote today on both parties’ competing plans. A new Republican proposal would allow the sequestration deadline to pass but give Congress until late March to decide how the $85 billion in spending cuts would take effect.