WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Country music singer and songwriter Jelly Roll was on Capitol Hill to attend a Senate committee hearing on stopping the flow of fentanyl into the U.S. on Thursday.
Jason “Jelly Roll” DeFord, who has been open about his struggles with addiction, testified before the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee.
“I was part of the problem. I am here now standing as a man that wants to be a part of the solution,” the Grammy nominee said.
Lawmakers held the hearing to raise awareness about legislative solutions to stop illegal smuggling of the opioid.
In his opening remarks, DeFord addressed how the fentanyl crisis is impacting communities across the country.
“190 people a day overdose and die in the United States of America. That is about a 737 plane, that’s what about a 737 aircraft can carry. Could you imagine the national media attention it would get if they were reporting that a plane was crashing every single day and killing 190 people?” DeFord asked.
Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) who chairs the committee pledged his commitment to finding solutions saying, “A crisis this massive, this multi-faceted demands our sustained focus.”
The committee introduced Senate Bill 1271, also known as the “FEND Off Fentanyl Act,” in April 2023. It would impose sanctions on people from other countries involved in fentanyl trafficking.
The legislation passed the Senate in July 2023, but has not made it through the House.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there were 109,680 overdose deaths in the United States in 2022. That’s about 2% more than the number of overdose deaths in 2021.
