LAS VEGAS (AP) -- U.S. Sen. Harry Reid is asking Congress to approve expanding the Moapa Band of Paiutes reservation near Las Vegas about one-third, by returning to the tribe some 39 square miles of federal land.
The outgoing Democratic party leader from Nevada said a bill he introduced Thursday would add 25,000 acres to the tribe's existing 72,000-acre reservation.
Reid says that would give the nearly 330 tribe members room for housing, cultural preservation and economic development. Reid plans to retire after 2016.
The tribe currently operates a highway truck stop and a solar power generating plant.
Tribal Chairman Darren Daboda says band members have sought for decades to acquire the land Reid's bill targets.
Daboda notes that homes flooded during monsoons last year, and the tribe wants room for more solar development.