U.S. Sen. Patty Murray met with a handful of veterans in Navy Yard City Aug. 26 to pitch the veteran employment legislation she will try to push through the Senate this fall.

Murray, a Democrat from Bothell running for her fourth term against Republican challenger Dino Rossi, heard testimonies from unemployed veterans and a National Guard employment transition coach at EHT Enterprises, a Bremerton-based construction company. The veterans discussed the barriers they face seeking employment after returning home from a tour of duty.

“It’s like starting at the bottom again,” said Nathan Burns, a Peninsula College student who spent five-and-a-half years in the National Guard and was twice deployed to Iraq. Burns said the stigma of his post-traumatic stress disorder and the tough job market have prevented him from finding steady work.

Twenty-one percent of veterans are unemployed, according to a news release from Murray’s office.

The Veterans Employment Act of 2010, which Murray introduced in April and passed the Senate Veterans’ Affairs committee in August, would create pilot programs to train veterans for jobs in the civilian workforce and other programs.