Obama to Make "Mini Deal" on Fiscal Cliff

Would delay or replace most spending cuts in automatic sequester

After conflicting reports Thursday on whether a new offer was coming and in advance of a White House summit Friday afternoon, President Obama has reportedly crafted a "scaled back" proposalthat would — temporarily, at least — avoid next week's fiscal cliff. The new "mini-deal" offer (a.k.a. the new "Plan B") would delay or replace the vast majority of spending cuts called for in the automatic sequester, most likely focusing on the sharp cuts in military spending. It would also seek to settle the planned hike in the Alternative Minimum Tax, extend unemployment benefits, and stop planned cuts to Medicare reimbursements. And as one final bonus, the president's latest proposal reportedly includes a "milk fix" that will avoid a dairy market catastrophe created by the failure to renew the farm bill.