The internet was created thanks to funding from the U.S. government — and the United States is still riding the economic boom and wave of creativity it unleashed. That’s just one example of how government spending has fueled innovation that drives the world’s largest economy.

But now, thanks to President Trump’s recent budget proposal, the U.S. faces losing its worldwide tech leadership. Far from making America great again, the budget would go a long way toward making the U.S. a laggard rather than a leader in new technologies.

Since the middle of the 19th century, no matter their disagreements, Republicans and Democrats have been united in their support for funding science and technologies. Abraham Lincoln is justly remembered for saving the Union and ending slavery, but his achievements having to do with technology and science are often overlooked. In 1862 he signed the Pacific Railroad Bill, which helped fund the building of the transcontinental railroad, a pre-eminent technology of its day, which transformed the country and our economy in ways that were just as dramatic as the internet’s effect today.

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