Sen. Mary Landrieu called for an end to the moratorium on deep-water oil and gas drilling Sunday.

“Yes, a pause was necessary, but a six-month moratorium has put a blanket of fear and anxiety, and it must be lifted as soon as possible,” the Louisiana Democrat said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The ban was instituted after an explosion on a BP drilling rig off Louisiana’s coast resulted in a leak that lasted into July.

“I’m fighting for small businesses. I’m not fighting for big oil. Don’t be confused,” Landrieu said. “And there are thousands of businesses in this state that are at great risk. Meanwhile, the country keeps guzzling the oil, but we are out of work down here. We need to get back to work to build this region, and we intend to do so.”

Landrieu and her brother, New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, appeared on “Meet the Press” to mark the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Landrieu said that the devastation wrought in Louisiana by the hurricane five years ago was a chance for change.

“The fact of the matter is, many of us knew that Katrina and the levee break was an opportunity to transform this region,” the Senator said.

Landrieu added that it’s important to note that far more of Louisiana was damaged than just New Orleans. “All of south Louisiana and all of the Gulf Coast is a very special place, and the federal government has underinvested in it year after year after year, whether it’s education or health care,” she said.