; sense of congress (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) Patents and other forms of intellectual property are important engines of innovation, invention, and economic growth. (2) Many innovative small businesses, which create more than 20 percent of the total number of new jobs created in the United States each year, depend on patent protections to commercialize new technologies. (3) Universities and their industry partners also rely on patent protections to transfer innovative new technologies from the laboratory or classroom to commercial use. (4) Recent studies have shown that there is a significant gap in the number of patents applied for and obtained by women and minorities. (b) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the Government of the United States has the responsibility to work with the private sector to close the gap in the number of patents applied for and obtained by women and minorities to harness the maximum innovative potential of the United States and continue to promote leadership by the United States in the global economy. 3. Study and report (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Administrator The term Administrator means the Administrator of the Small Business Administration. (2) Agency The term agency means a department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government. (3) Director The term Director means the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. (b) Study The Director, in consultation with the Administrator and any other head of an appropriate agency, shall conduct a study that— (1) identifies publicly available data on the number of patents annually applied for and obtained by, and the benefits of increasing the number of patents applied for and obtained by, women, minorities, and veterans and small businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans