And now, some good news from Congress: Thanks to a last-minute vote, the U.S. Small Business Administration will be able to keep its 7(a) loan-guarantee program up and running for the rest of the fiscal year.

Demand for 7(a) loans has soared over the last several months, pushing the program to its dollar limit of $18.75 billion. The SBA had said that it would have to stop approving new 7(a) loans until the start of the next fiscal year in October.

Now Congress has raised the program cap to $23.5 billion, just before elected leaders are scheduled to go on recess in August. President Obama signed the bill into law on Tuesday.

“Thank you to the House of Representatives for the step it took on Monday to raise SBA’s lending authorization ceiling to $23.5 billion for our 7(a) loan guaranty program,” SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet said in a release on Monday. “Combined with the Senate’s action last Thursday, the SBA’s flagship lending program is back on track.

“We have seen record levels of lending this year, showing us that America’s small businesses are thriving and yearning to grow. We have streamlined our processes, reduced fees, and bolstered our outreach to our lending partners.”