U.S. Rep. Scott Desjarlais speaks at the La-Z-Boy furniture plant on Thursday, June 2, 2016, in Dayton, Tenn. The plant on Thursday marked 7 million hours without a lost work day case.NASHVILLE - U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., is lauding an announcement by CVS that the drug store chain will begin selling a generic competitor to Mylan Pharmaceutical's EpiPen at a fraction of the price.
CVS' move comes months after DesJarlais and fellow members of the the House Oversight Committee questioned Mylar executives to explain why they boosted the popular allergy medication's price by 500 percent after acquiring rights to the drug.
"As both a physician and Representative for Tennessee families at risk, I'm glad to see Congressional oversight has paid off, positively impacting many Americans' health and peace of mind," DesJarlais said in a news release Thursday.
He said "that this life-saving drug is now more widely available is a testament to what public presure can achieve."
Mylan's huge boost in prices prevented budget-strapped schools and families from administering the emergency medication, generating public outcry over what was seen as price gouging.
During last September's hearing, DesJarlais questioned whether Mylan was making a good faith effort to respond.