Biden administration officials warned a key Senate panel Wednesday that a surge of illicitly manufactured fentanyl trafficked into the United States continues to claim lives and has contributed to "the worst drug crisis" the nation has ever seen.

More than 56,000 people died from overdoses involving synthetic opioids in 2020, including fentanyl — a more than 56% increase in overdose death rates from 2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During a hearing Wednesday featuring key drug enforcement officials, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee demanded to hear ways to stem the flow of fentanyl into the country. Most of the fentanyl being trafficked into the country is mass-produced in labs in Mexico and made with from chemicals sourced from China, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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Who testified?

• Rahul Gupta: National Drug Control Policy director in the Executive Office of the President.

• Anne Milgram: administrator at the Drug Enforcement Administration at the U.S. Department of Justice

• Todd Robinson: assistant secretary of State, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the U.S. State Department

'Worst drug crisis' ever seen: experts raise the alarm

Gupta opened his testimony on what he referred to as the "worst drug crisis" the country's ever faced with stark statistics:

• 46 million Americans are suffering from substance abuse disorder.

• More than 107,000 Americans dying from drug overdose or poisoning a year.

• And that the rate of overdose deaths is representative of an American dying every five minutes of every hour of every day.

During her opening statement, Milgram told the committee that the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels in Mexico are responsible for the majority of the fentanyl being trafficked into the country. The DEA is prioritizing "defeating" the two cartels, Milgram said, explaining that the Sinaloa and Jalisco "dominate the entire, global fentanyl supply chain."

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Robinson emphasized the Biden administration's focus in addressing the influx of fentanyl into the country and the accelerating overdose deaths.

"We are engaging our foreign partners to protect national security and global health by disrupting the illicit synthetic drug supply chain and supporting the effective prevention, treatment and recovery to end this epidemic and save American lives," he told senators.

'Unprecedented threat': senators zero in on fentanyl smuggling

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, referred to the flow of illicit fentanyl into the U.S. as "one of the most urgent challenges facing the American public."

Law enforcement agencies, he said, must use "every foreign policy tool" at hand to stop the ongoing epidemic.

Menendez outlined measures the U.S. should take to address the issue, including expanding the country's efforts with India to strengthening regulation of its chemical and pharmaceutical industry.

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Idaho Sen. James Risch, the committee's ranking member, called the fentanyl epidemic an "unprecedented threat," noting that the drug was responsible for roughly 70% of the more than 100,000 Americans who died from drug overdoses in 2022.

To address this "threat," the Idaho Republican called for greater awareness of the opioid's dangers, better coordination of local, state and federal law enforcement resources for mental health, effective international cooperation and the improvement of security at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Go deeper:

• What is fentanyl poisoning? These State of the Union guests lost their son to it

• Biden is in Mexico City. His first action? Asking the Mexican president for help with fentanyl

• Biden talks fentanyl crisis in Mexico: What experts say should be done to stop overdose deaths

• Enough fentanyl to kill every American: DEA seizes 379 million deadly doses in 2022

• Rescues of asylum-seekers soar as Border Patrol ramps up efforts and more migrants arrive

• Biden visits US-Mexico border as administration tackles illegal migration

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Lawmakers look to stem smuggling of fentanyl in the US in hearing