Joe Crowley says Republicans can avoid a shutdown without Democratic support

Rep. Joe Crowley said Wednesday that Republicans can pass a bill to keep the government open without Democratic support.

“They can pass whatever bill they want without Democratic support. We know that. But if they want to pass a bill that has the broad support of the Democratic caucus, it needs to be reflective of the values of our caucus, frankly the values of the American people,” Mr. Crowley, New York Democrat, said on Fox News.

Among several items in the bill, Republicans and Democrats are fighting over whether or not to include language that protects children brought to the U.S. illegally — known as Dreamers — in the spending bill. They need to pass some form of a funding measure by Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

Republicans fear division in their own ranks will prevent them from passing a plan without any Democratic support.

Mr. Crowley, who serves as chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said the initial spending plan proposed in the House has some good aspects to it, but there needs to be changes made in order to get Democrats on board.

“It has some good aspects to it. The CHIP funding is good, keeping government open, we want to keep government open,” he explained, referring to the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The Republican plan extends funding for that program for the next six years.

But Mr. Crowley said in order for Republicans to get the bipartisan support they’re looking for, they need to have a conversation with Democrats.

“They’re not talking to Democrats right now,” he said.