House Oversight Committee schedules markup on drug pricing, D.C. tax oversight bills

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House reviews drug pricing, tax bills

Highlights

House Oversight Committee will mark up H.R. 6610 on July 22, targeting pharmacy benefit managers' reimbursement, rebate, and patient-steering practices in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.
H.R. 9720 would require Congressional approval within 60 days for any Washington, D.C. tax or fee legislation, increasing federal control over the District's fiscal actions.
H.R. 9725 proposes abolishing the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency in one year, shifting certain oversight functions to the Office of Management and Budget.

July 22 markup agenda and bill package

As reported by Oversight House, citing the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, the full House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform meets at 10:00 a.m. ET on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, to consider several bills tied to healthcare costs, congressional oversight of Washington, D.C., and government operations.

Chairman James Comer says the panel is moving legislation that targets pharmacy benefit managers, which he describes as using practices that raise the cost of medicines and pressure independent pharmacies. He also says the committee is weighing legislation to tighten congressional review of the District's taxing authority and to advance broader government reform measures.

Among the measures, H.R. 6610, the Pharmacists Fight Back Act, sets new requirements for pharmacy benefit managers participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The bill requires fair reimbursement to pharmacies, directs manufacturer rebates toward lowering beneficiaries' prescription drug costs, bars steering of patients to affiliated pharmacies and creates penalties for noncompliance.

H.R. 9720, the D.C. Taxing Authority Review Act, requires congressional approval for District legislation that imposes or increases a tax or fee. Under the proposal, such measures would not take effect unless Congress passes a joint resolution of approval within 60 days after receiving them, and the bill sets expedited procedures for consideration.

Other items include H.R. 9725, which would abolish the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency one year after enactment and shift certain oversight duties to the Office of Management and Budget. H.R. 9643 would require agencies to verify that electronic rulemaking comments come from humans, give agencies more authority over identical or substantially similar mass comments, and require public disclosure of comment-handling policies, while H.R. 9741 would rename the District of Columbia Tuition Assistance Grant Program after Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Potential impact on healthcare, governance and agencies

The healthcare measure puts pharmacy benefit managers at the center of the committee's cost-reduction agenda, with a focus on reimbursement practices, rebates and patient steering. If advanced and enacted, the bill would affect participants in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and could shape operating requirements for intermediaries in the prescription drug supply chain.

The District-related legislation would expand Congress's direct role over local tax and fee increases in Washington, D.C., potentially affecting residents, employers and the local fiscal process. The remaining government operations bills point to tighter federal administrative controls, including changes to inspector general oversight structures, standards for watchdog offices and new compliance expectations for agencies managing online public comments.

Various postal naming bills are also scheduled to be considered en bloc during the markup.

In our earlier coverage of governance risks around surplus public pension assets, we examined how U.S. public sponsors facing budget pressure may seek to redirect overfunded pension plan surpluses to general spending. We noted that this can raise credit and governance concerns, and that stronger safeguards—such as ring-fenced assets, independent governance, and credible restoration mechanisms—are viewed as more supportive than after-the-fact assurances.

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