Story highlights Biden hosted Sanders at the Naval Observatory and chatted for an hour

Biden has pledged to remain an active player in the Democratic primary battle despite passing up his own bid

Washington (CNN) Bernie Sanders met privately Thursday with a man who until last week was a potential presidential competitor: Vice President Joe Biden.

Biden hosted Sanders at the Naval Observatory and chatted for an hour about campaign finance reform and expanding access to college education, the Vermont senator said in a statement released by his campaign. Sanders praised Biden's legacy, just as Democratic rival Hillary Clinton has.

"Under the leadership of President Obama and Vice President Biden, this country has come a long way economically since President Bush left office and we were losing 800,000 jobs every month and the world economy was on the brink of financial collapse," Sanders said. "Nevertheless, we still have a long way to go to create the kind of economy that works for all Americans and not just the top 1 percent."

Biden has pledged to remain an active player in the Democratic primary battle despite passing up his own bid.

An aide to Biden said the vice president is open to meeting with any of the Democratic candidates, adding that Sanders initiated the session.

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