A bipartisan group of senators is recommending that the federal government spend at least $32 billion a year on non-defense artificial intelligence innovation.

Senators Chuck Schumer, Mike Rounds, Martin Heinrich and Todd Young detailed their proposal in a report published today. The 31-page document is the fruit of discussions with more than 150 AI experts. It contains dozens of recommendations intended to provide a roadmap for future AI policy initiatives.

“From the outset, the AI Working Group’s objective has been to complement the traditional congressional committee-driven policy process, considering that this broad technology does not neatly fall into the jurisdiction of any single committee,” the senators explained in the report.

The group recommends that a portion of the proposed federal AI funding be allocated to a cross-government AI research and development initiative. The project would include the participation of NASA along with at least a half-dozen other agencies and departments. According to the report, one of the effort’s main objectives would be to advance research in fields such as robotics.

Another recommendation calls for the creation of federally funded AI innovation awards. The initiative would be modeled after existing programs such as the DARPA Grand Challenge, which is designed to encourage research into autonomous vehicle technology. The senators are calling for the awards to focus on “applications of AI that would fundamentally transform the process of science, engineering, or medicine.”

The newly published report also recommends a number of narrower research initiatives limited to one or two government agencies. One such proposal calls for the Energy Department and the National Institute of Standards and Technology to create an AI-powered materials science testbed. The goal of this infrastructure would be to help scientists identify, test and synthesize new materials that could be used in AI-supported manufacturing facilities.

AI safety is another major focus of the report. It contains several proposals related to the topic, including a recommendation that the federal government explore new mechanisms for preventing AI-powered fraud. Another section of the document outlines steps that could be taken to support the responsible use of machine learning applications in the healthcare sector.

Besides outlining potential research priorities, the Senate group’s proposal details policy initiatives that could be taken to advance those priorities. The goal is to encourage “the relevant committees to develop legislation to leverage public-private partnerships across the federal government to support AI advancements and minimize potential risks from AI,” the senators wrote.

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