Elijah Cummings, the House Oversight and Reform Chairman and a sharp critic of the drug industry, said Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Tuesday pledged to work with him to bring down the price of drugs.
"We have similar goals but the main goal is bringing down the price of drugs," Cummings told reporters after the meeting, per The Hill. "We agreed that we would do everything we could to work together."
Cummings has conducted investigations into prescription drug price increases before, but now has subpoena power to force more information from the industry since Democrats are in control of the house.
The meeting comes after Cummings introduced drug pricing legislation this week aimed at lowering pharmaceutical costs.
"He's aware of our legislation," Cummings said. "We are headed for the same goals, but not necessarily the exact same legislation, so I've got to tell you I came out of the meeting feeling hopeful that this is something that we can do on a bipartisan basis."
The House Oversight and Reform Committee will hold a hearing Jan. 29 on drug pricing.
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