Three U.S. senators have recently filed a bill to help veterans, including those who are returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, find work and start their own businesses. The Veterans Employment Act of 2010 seeks to establish the Veterans Business Center with the U.S. Small Business Administration to train veterans on entrepreneurship and various apprenticeship programs. The bill will also support veterans get the licenses and certificates they need to launch new careers, as well as career counseling to help them highlight their military experience more effectively. Senator Patty Murray, one of the three authors of the bill, told the Daily News Online that one in five veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan are not able to find work. "How can these heroes, who have performed under such tremendous pressure be struggling so much when they come home?" she asked. The senator said many veterans downplay their military experience because of the "stigma of the invisible wounds of war." With this bill, Murray said employers will see the value of military training and leadership skills gained by veterans in the war zone. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 14.7% of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are unemployed. The unemployment rate is even higher 21.1% among younger veterans age 18 to 24 years old, it added.  |