From this morning's Earlybird:

• Despite a presidential order to do so, few federal officials' contacts with lobbyists "have been reported even though lobbyists say they are busier than ever with the multibillion-dollar stimulus," AP reports. "Since the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed in February, federal agencies have reported 197 contacts with lobbyists about stimulus grants."

• The battle over the upcoming climate bill "could be just as nasty as the one over healthcare, and many of the groups opposing or supporting the energy proposals are gleaning lessons from the current fight," the Los Angeles Times reports. "Groups on both sides 'are not just watching healthcare closely, but calibrating how we go about doing this based on what we see happening out there,' said Matt Bennett, vice president for public affairs at Third Way, a centrist Democratic think tank engaged in both the healthcare and climate fights."

• "Organized labor is betting big in Virginia and New Jersey, where two critical off-year gubernatorial races are taking place in November," Politico reports. "In New Jersey, where Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine trails Republican Chris Christie in the polls, the AFL-CIO earlier this month unveiled a web site slamming Christie for promoting an 'economic agenda threatens the middle class.'"