Statement by the President Upon Releasing Report of the President's National Advisory Panel on Insurance in Riot-Affected Areas.

ONE OF THE most urgent needs in America's cities today is to assure that the property of businessmen and homeowners is adequately protected by insurance.

The events of last summer spotlighted this need. The rebuilding of our cities turns on its being met.

Last August, I appointed a Panel, chaired by Governor Richard Hughes of New Jersey, to study the problem and recommend ways to answer it.

The Panel has just submitted a comprehensive report which recommends the course of action it believes will solve this problem. It calls upon the property insurance industry and State, local, and Federal Governments to contribute to a solution.

This Panel's work shows once again how the pubilc interest can be served when the Federal Government, business, and State and local officials come together responsibly to meet the pressing problems of our cities. [See APP note below.]

I have asked the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to review the Panel's report and, working with the Secretaries of Commerce and the Treasury, the Attorney General, the Director of the Budget, and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration, to prepare whatever legislation is appropriate to carry out the Federal responsibilities.

The work of this Panel deserves the highest thanks of the Nation.