Now, Henderson officials and business leaders are optimistic a change in congressional leadership to Democratic hands will finally lead to its passage when it is reintroduced in 2007.

The bill, written in 2003 and first introduced in 2004, has gone nowhere in the last two sessions of Congress, blocked by some of its members and temporarily stymied after the Southern Nevada Water Authority raised concerns.

The measure, which has been backed by the entire Nevada delegation, will be reintroduced in the next session by Senate Majority Leader-elect Harry Reid of Nevada.

"I am always optimistic that probably there will be a honeymoon period with the new leadership," Henderson Economic Development Manager Bob Cooper said. "Sometimes there is more of a flurry of activity with a new group, and when you have Harry Reid move up the ladder, that will be a positive aspect of getting this bill passed. The momentum change and Harry in the leadership should bode well."

The legislation, which transfers two tracts totaling 502 acres near Henderson Executive Airport in Henderson, circumvents the normal auction process of federal land through the Bureau of Land Management. The city would zone the property for office and industrial use before auctioning it off in chunks.

Under the existing auction process, developers pay the highest price, and they would likely pressure Henderson officials to designate the land for residential use. City officials said residential use isn't compatible with the airport because of noise.

City officials hope the site will be attractive to developers and businesses given the scarcity of industrial property in the region and its proximity to McCarran International Airport and the Henderson airport.

"We have literally run out of good industrial and commercial land," Cooper said. "We don't have another business park we can show people."

Henderson envisions the complex to include light manufacturing, research and development facilities and corporate and regional headquarters. Some projections have suggested there could be 6 million square feet and as many as 17,000 employees.

When the bill was introduced by Reid in November 2004, Henderson officials were predicting it would be approved by summer 2005.

In 2004, the bill was hampered by having many amendments attached to it, while some members of Congress on the East Coast didn't understand it, Cooper said.

In 2005, with the Iraq war and Hurricane Katrina, it wasn't given a high enough priority, Cooper said.

There have been other hiccups as well. The bill was originally written to transfer 547 acres to Henderson but was changed to 502 acres to allow the airport, which is owned and operated by Clark County, to acquire 45 acres on the southwest edge of the airport for future uses.

Concerned about losing millions of dollars in revenue, the Water Authority sidetracked the bill a year ago after objecting to language changing the formula for dispersing proceeds of the city's planned land sale.

Under a 1998 act authorizing federal land auctions, 85 percent of the proceeds go for parks and conservation projects, 5 percent to the state for schools and 10 percent to the Water Authority for water treatment projects.

Henderson's bill would have given the city the 10 percent normally received by the Water Authority - possibly tens of millions of dollars.

The city intended to use the funds to build water and sewer lines and other infrastructure, as well as for planning and zoning that would add value to the land.

Henderson backed down from its request for any revenue from the sale to advance the legislation, said Terri Barber, the city's intergovernmental relations director.

Reid's Communication Director Jon Summers said partisanship didn't block the bill because even the Bush administration testified in favor of it. Because Congress only worked three days a week, it didn't give enough time to focus on such bills, he said.

"I think there will be a greater focus on getting things done because we will be working five days a week," Summers said.

Once the legislation is approved, city officials said it would take at least a year to prepare plans for the property before auctioning it.

Backers of the legislation said it is important for Henderson to have more industrial development to balance its residential uses. The site will not only generate jobs but tax revenue that pays for city services used by residents.

The two tracts, which measure about 250 acres, could be sold off in chunks as large as 100 acres, Cooper said. Anything larger may be too expensive for a developer, who in turn could sell pieces it acquires.

Finding 10 acres or more for someone to purchase in Henderson is difficult, and on top of that, someone would want $1 million an acre for it, Cooper said.

Companies won't pay that, especially when they can get property 40 percent to 50 percent cheaper in Phoenix.

Members of the Las Vegas chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties will go to Washington in February to meet with members of Congress to back the Henderson bill and other legislation.

"We think it is very important," said outgoing chapter president Ralph Murphy. "We need to set aside some federally-controlled land for commercial and industrial development. If it was just released by the BLM, it would tend to be residential."