From this morning's Earlybird:

• "Representatives from the insurance industry drew a line in the sand Tuesday on the Obama administration's proposed healthcare plan, after months of meetings and saying all the right things about finding common ground on reform," The Hill reports. "The two trade associations that represent health insurance companies declared in no uncertain terms their opposition to creating a new, government-run health benefits program, in a letter delivered to the top Democratic and Republican senators on the Finance and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) committees Tuesday."

• "Consumer groups want the Commerce Department to put open-access conditions on the $7 billion in economic stimulus funds for building new broadband networks," Federal Computer Week reports. "The consumer groups want the department's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to require that any broadband networks funded by the stimulus law be open to all traffic. However, carriers say such provisions are counterproductive and hurt the goal of building networks quickly."

• "Union and business group officials on Tuesday warned a House panel against approving a cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gases that could further undermine the international competitiveness of the recession-damaged manufacturing sector in the U.S.," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports.

• "Beer, wine and distilled spirits wholesalers are planning a counteroffensive to a White House budget proposal they claim may retroactively tax their businesses $100 billion or more," Roll Call (subscription) reports. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America "and other foes of the administration's budget are dusting off the LIFO Coalition to help beat back "Obama's "proposed repeal of 'last in, first out' accounting."

• "Sen. Arlen Specter's decision to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act is a major blow to unions but a gift for President Barack Obama and centrist Democrats, who get a reprieve from having to take sides in a death match between Big Labor and Big Business," Politico reports. "Specter announced Tuesday that he would oppose cloture and oppose passage of EFCA, or "card check," as its opponents call it."

• "Efforts by President Obama and Democratic lawmakers to end tax breaks for 'corporations that ship jobs overseas' are being squeezed by major U.S. multinationals, and a senior Democratic tax-writer said the issue might have to wait for a broader tax reform discussion," CongressDailyAM (subscription) reports. "About 200 companies and trade associations wrote to congressional leaders Tuesday urging them to oppose a move to end the current tax regime where companies are able to indefinitely defer tax on foreign earnings until the money is brought back to the United States."