Payments to businesses affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill are nearing $150 million as BP’s costs eclipsed $3 billion. 

Nearly 100,000 damage claims have been filed — about half of those have been processed and none have been denied so far, according to figures released late Thursday by federal officials. 

Total claims were more than $148.7 million, paid to approximately 47,000 out of 96,302 claims filed, federal officials reported.

The Small Business Administration has approved 142 economic injury assistance loans, totaling more than $10.9 million for small businesses in the Gulf Coast region affected by the oil spill, according to federal officials. 

The SBA also has granted 554 loan deferments with an estimated value of $3.1 million each month in payments. 

The Associated General Contractors of America has called on Congress to provide more funding to help the industry better weather the financial crisis after construction spending decreased in the month of May. 

"Stimulus has made a difference, but Congress needs to provide long-term funding for transportation and water projects to assure further economic growth," said Ken Simonson, the group's chief economist, in prepared remarks. "Federal stimulus dollars helped keep public construction afloat and buoyed single-family construction."

Construction spending shrank again in May, dropping 8 percent from a year earlier. However, stimulus-funded public works projects increased from levels a year ago. The increase was the only bright spot for the non-residential construction sector, according to the group. 

Senate Finance Committee leaders Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Tuesday called on the Fox Insurance Co. to account for the $60 million-plus in Medicare funds it received and is alleged to have kept. 

The Finance Committee has jurisdiction over the Medicare Part D prescription drug program that gave the company the funds to pay pharmacy claims before it was terminated from the program. But, so far, it appears the company is still holding onto those funds. 

The Conference Board on Tuesday predicted moderate job growth with its Employment Trends Index showing just a slight uptick from previous months. 

"The moderate increase in the Employment Trends Index in the last two months suggests that many employers are now concerned that the recovery is losing momentum," said Gad Levanon, associate director of macroeconomic research at the Conference Board.

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The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday began running ads in opposition of a decision by House Ways and Means Chairman Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) to pay for his green energy tax bill by rescinding several tax breaks benefiting the oil and gas industry. The ads are slated to run in 10 states and depict the tax increases as job killers. 

The 15- and 30-second ads will attempt to show voters that increasing taxes on an industry that supports 9.2 million jobs and represents 7.5 percent of the country’s GDP will have a devastating effect on the economic rebound. 

The National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts on Tuesday urged lawmakers to pass legislation requiring Internet shopping sites to collect sales taxes. 

Internet and other sellers that do not have a physical presence in a state are not required to collect the sales and use taxes at the point of sale, while most brick-and-mortar stores are required to do so. The group suggests that if Congress treated all shops the same there would be less of a deficit issue at the state level. 

“[Billions] of dollars in sales taxes owed [to] state and local governments for remote sales, estimated at over $10 billion a year annually by 2012, have gone uncollected,” the group stated, adding, “We believe all commercial transactions should be subject to the same tax treatment.”

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee vote last week to remove the $75 million federal liability cap for oil spills has the industry worried U.S. companies will be forced out of the oil exploration business because insurance companies won't be able to cover a risk that has effectively become unlimited.

"The accident in the Gulf of Mexico has shown us that we need to focus on safety and environmental protection," said American Petroleum Institute President and CEO Jack Gerard in prepared remarks. "But legislative proposals that would make domestic resources unavailable or uneconomic, instead of focusing on improving safety, must be turned aside." 

If lawmakers don't act, 27 million taxpayers will see an average tax increase of $3,900 from the alternative minimum tax. 

Double-digit unemployment has plagued black men, construction workers, teenagers and those without high school diplomas more than other groups.