From this morning's Earlybird:

• "A region of Somalia that is home to many of the pirates who have made national news terrorizing area waters is seeking help from K Street to calm the troubled seas," The Hill reports. "The Puntland State of Somalia, an autonomous region in northeastern Somalia formed in 1998, has hired a lobbying firm in Washington, hoping to make the case that lawmakers on Capitol Hill should send money their way to combat piracy and reduce terrorism in the chaotic Gulf of Aden region."

• "Despite faltering support for a bill that would make it easier for unions to organize, backers of the Employee Free Choice Act are continuing to push key Senators to move forward on the legislation," Roll Call (subscription) reports. "After a two-week recess during which big business and unions blanketed lawmakers' districts with anti- and pro-'card check' rallies, advertisements and phone calls, both sides are soldiering on in what has become a multiyear, multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign."

• "Big industry trade groups cut their lobbying spending during the first three months of 2009, while large labor unions ramped up expenditures to influence Congress and the Obama administration," the Wall Street Journal reports. "Disclosure statements made public Tuesday showed a 31% slide to $62.5 million in spending on lobbying activities by 20 leading business trade associations, compared with $90 million in the previous three months at the end of 2008. The largest labor unions increased lobbying spending by 15% to $5.3 million in the same period, according to the disclosure reports."