In an attempt to raise the historically low rate of breastfeeding in the United States, federal health officials commissioned an attention-grabbing advertising campaign a few years ago to convince mothers that their babies faced real health risks if they did not breastfeed.  But a lobbyist for the politically powerful infant formula industry persuaded federal officials to tone down the ads.  The formula industry's intervention is being scrutinized by Rep. Henry A. Waxman's Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in the wake of last month's testimony by former Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona that the Bush administration repeatedly allowed political considerations to interfere with his efforts to promote public health.  The toned-down campaign had no visible impact on breastfeeding rates in the United States, and other current and former HHS officials say that this was not the only time HHS missed a chance to educate the public in an effort to raise breastfeeding rates.  To read the full article, see HHS Toned Down Breastfeeding Ads (Washington Post, Aug. 31, 2007).