Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Wednesday urged Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to act on making changes to estate tax law before it reverts back to pre-2001 levels in 2011.

The senator warned that no action would mean thousands of small business owners and farmers would be subjected to the tax.

"I hope that the Democratic leadership will soon reveal their hand so that those thousands of small businesses and farmers aren't hung out to dry," he told reporters.

The Obama administration and Congress are "fueling" the nation's growing federal debt, House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Wednesday in response to a White House speech.

"The president gives a good speech, but good speeches can't improve failing policies," Cantor said about President Barack Obama's remarks Wednesday at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. 

"Out-of-control spending" and expanding government are at the root of the nation's inability to grow the economy and get the nation back on a disciplined fiscal track, he said. 

"All of these factors are suffocating long-term economic growth, and instead of fixing these problems, the Obama administration keeps fueling them in tandem with the Congress," Cantor said. 

During Wednesday's speech, Obama blamed Republican policies such as tax cuts for the wealthy that weren't paid for, weakened regulations and an inability to slow spending for the $1.3 trillion debt he inherited when he took office. He also said Republicans are harping on the same arguments that haven't worked during the past decade. 

Instead, Cantor said Congress needs to change its tune and "to put America back on the road to long-term growth and prosperity" will require cutting government spending and growing the private sector, he said. 

Former Minnesota Rep. Jim Ramstad (R) has joined alliantgroup, a tax speciality firm that helps businesses with federal and state tax incentives, as a senior advisor. 

"I'm proud to be associated with alliantgroup and the critical service they provide not only to businesses, but to our economy and to the creation of American jobs," Ramstad said Wednesday in a statement. "Helping small and mid-sized companies grow has been a focus of my career and alliantgroup is dedicated to the same mission."

Ramstad served in Congress from 1991 to 2009 and was a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the panel's Health subcommittee. He was ranking member of the Oversight subcommittee during his nearly 20 years in office. 

Nearly all employers — 94 percent — tapped by the Towers Watson Health Care Reform Pulse Survey believe the new healthcare law will raise health costs for their organization. 

Additionally, 61 percent believe reform will have a minimal effect on encouraging healthier lifestyles, and 73 percent said it will either have a negative impact or no impact on the quality of care.

"Employers are currently weighing the short-term challenges and long-term opportunities of the new law," said Mark Maselli, North American Health and Group Benefits Leaders for Towers Watson, in prepared remarks. "While many employers have not yet assessed the full impact that reform will have on their businesses, they do realize that the responsibilty to hold costs down will fall primarily on their shoulders."

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) wrote BP's CEO on Wednesday to demand the oil company pay for the construction of barrier islands off Louisiana's coast.

Vitter wrote Tony Hayward, the CEO of the oil company, to demand that it fund the construction of the sand-based islands to protect Louisiana's shores from the effects of the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which is leaking from BP-leased pipes.

"In keeping with BP’s clear commitment to pay for all response measures and damages associated with this disaster, I request that BP confirm in writing that it will fund all other permitted segments of the above plan now so that the state can contract for and commence all of that work immediately," Vitter said in the letter to Hayward.

General Motors recorded a nearly 17 percent jump in May sales, bolstered by sales of new vehicle models and a government fleet contract. 

GM seems to be recovering after coming out of bankruptcy last summer, as the double-digit U.S. sales increase represents the first time since January that the automaker has topped forecasts. Analysts were expecting somewhere around a 6 percent increase. 

The Detroit-based automaker is still aiming for an initial public offering either later this year or sometime in early 2011 that would allow them to pay back the remainder of their government debt.

President Barack Obama will frame the upcoming midterm elections in a speech Wednesday as a choice between the economic progress Democrats want and the Republican policy of tax cuts and deregulation that's been tried before.

"As November approaches, leaders in the other party will campaign furiously on the same economic argument they’ve been making for decades," Obama will say at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pa., according excerpts of his prepared remarks. "Fortunately, we don’t have to look back too many years to see how it turns out."

The speech is likely to please Democrats on Capitol Hill, who have pressed Obama to go directly after Republicans instead of blaming Washington in general for slowing down Democratic measures on the economy.

Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday introduced legislation that slaps a $0.25 excise tax on companies that transfer domestic customer service calls to foreign call centers. The bill's chief aim is to stem the outsourcing of jobs.

"If we want to put a stop to the outsourcing of American jobs, than we need to provide incentives for American companies to keep American jobs here," Schumer said in prepared remarks. "This bill will not only serve to maintain call center jobs currently in the United States, but also provide a reason for companies that have already outsourced jobs to bring them back."

Pending home sales rose in April for the third consecutive month as the housing market showed sustained growth.