WASHINGTON IN BRIEF

Colleges Face Spending Questions

Leaders of the Senate Finance Committee have asked 136 colleges to answer questions about the growth of their endowments and spending on student aid.

Hundreds of U.S. colleges saw double-digit growth in their endowments last year, and 136 have $500 million or more, according to a study released yesterday by the National Association of College and University Business Officers. The combined assets of those endowments, more than $411 billion, increased by $71 billion compared with fiscal 2006.

"Tuition has gone up, college presidents' salaries have gone up, and endowments continue to go up and up," said Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who sent the letter along with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.). "We need to start seeing tuition relief for families go up just as fast."

The committee has asked whether university endowments, which are tax-exempt, should pay out more to lower the cost of education for students.

This year, several schools with the largest endowments changed their financial-aid funding, efforts that Baucus said he found encouraging because tuition has been increasing at a faster rate than inflation.

"We're surprised and frustrated that they're asking these questions," said Becky Timmons, assistant vice president for government relations at the American Council on Education. "We've been trying to supply a lot of this information to them for the past six months," since a congressional hearing in September, she said.

Stronger Warning Urged for Botox

Botox and a similar injection should come with stronger warnings in light of reports of 16 deaths after the botulinum toxin spread inside the body, a U.S. consumer group said.

Public Citizen, which reviewed 180 reports submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, asked U.S. authorities to require the strongest possible warning, highlighted in a "black box," on Allergan's Botox and Solstice Neurosciences' Myobloc.

Botox smooths facial wrinkles but has also been approved for medical uses such as treating cervical dystonia, or rigid neck muscles. Myobloc is cleared only for the neck condition.

Injections are made with forms of the botulinum toxin, which blocks nerve impulses to muscles and makes the muscles relax.

Allergan and Solstice did not respond to requests for a comment.

FDA May Open Offices Overseas

The Food and Drug Administration is considering opening satellite offices in U.S. embassies as part of its effort to improve the safety of food, medications and other products coming into the United States.

FDA Commissioner Andrew C. von Eschenbach said it is time for the federal government to do what private companies do and increase its presence overseas to ensure that suppliers meet U.S. standards for quality and safety.

Von Eschenbach was sketchy about the resources to be dedicated to an overseas effort. The agency relies on inspections at U.S. ports to catch unsafe imports. Less than 1 percent of food coming across the U.S. border is inspected.

-- From Staff Reports and News Services