Barack Obama's proposal to end a business tax break worth $72 billion is among the tensions the president may confront as he meets today with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in an effort to revive bipartisan talks over reducing the debt, three persons familiar with the issue say.

Ending the so-called last-in-first-out, or LIFO, provision, a method of accounting for inventory costs, was among options offered by White House officials for raising $400 billion in revenue over 10 years during seven weeks of negotiations led by Vice President Joe Biden, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to comment publicly.

Republicans want a multitrillion-dollar debt-reduction package as part of a vote to increase the nation's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit by Aug. 2. The LIFO provision was among possible revenue increases that Republicans opposed when the Biden talks, which included two Republicans and four Democrats, collapsed last week. Biden criticized Republicans for trying to keep President George W. Bush-era tax breaks while advocating cuts in Medicare.