According to the state Employment Security Division, roughly 250,000 people are out of work and collecting unemployment checks in Washington. The state has historically provided up to 46 weeks of income to people who are laid off. Two years ago, at the height of the recession, the federal government passed a law adding another 53 weeks, and supplying states with the money to cover that extension.

But last week, that extension expired, and Congress has so far declined to reinstate it. In May, the House narrowly passed a measure to renew the benefits (with 34 Democrats and all but one Republican voting no). But attempts to pass a bill before senators went on a break last month failed. The Senate may take a vote later this week.

If the extension is not reinstated, 186,000 people in Washington will run out of benefits by the end of the year, says Employment Security spokesperson Sheryl Hutchison. Already, 10,000 Washington residents have exhausted the 99 weeks of benefits and are now without income, she says.

The problem is Washington’s persistent unemployment rate, which fell slightly in April to 9.2 percent, but which has been hovering near that for a year now.