We won’t be great for much longer if this keeps up.

(CNS News) — President Barack Obama said that federal government spending makes America great — a claim he has made before — while speaking to a Democratic National Committee (DNC) gathering in San Francisco.

“Let me tell you something,” Obama said to applause from the crowd at Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco on Apr. 20. “I will not reduce our deficit by sacrificing the things that have always made America great. The things that have made Americans prosper.”

“I won’t sacrifice our investments in education,” he said. “I will not sacrifice those. I won’t sacrifice our investments in science and basic research. I won’t sacrifice the safety of our highways or our airports. I won’t sacrifice our investment in clean energy at a time when our dependence on foreign oil is causing Americans so much pain at the pump. I will not sacrifice America’s future. That I will not do.”

House Republican leaders recently released a budget plan, which passed in the House, and is aimed at reducing the national debt and the federal deficit. President Obama released a framework for deficit reduction but not a detailed plan.