Coverage of the Waltham even

en. John Kerry talked budget and the government’s near-shutdown Sunday at Government Center.

“I was profoundly embarrassed and angry and frustrated by this process that went on these last days,” said Kerry, to an intimate gathering at the Arthur J. Clark building. “Imagine the world looking at the United States of America, that promotes democracy everywhere, sitting there talking about the government of the United States shutting down because the people who were sent to Washington couldn’t agree.”

Congressional leaders agreed late Friday on a compromise on the federal budget to avert a government shutdown.

Among other things, Kerry criticized Congressman Paul Ryan’s budget plan for next year. Ryan is the Republican Chair of the House Budget Committee.

“They call it the pathway to prosperity. I call it the pathway to poverty and the pathway to diminishing the power of our country,” said Kerry.

The town hall meeting was attended by a number of local elected officials, including state Sen. Susan Fargo, Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian and state Rep. Thomas Stanley.

Read more: Kerry shows ire over federal shutdown crisis at Waltham gathering - Waltham, Massachusetts - Wicked Local Waltham http://www.wickedlocal.com/waltham/archive/x532924421/Kerry-shows-ire-over-federal-shutdown-crisis-at-Waltham-gathering#ixzz1JDqUodbA