Congresswomen Colleen Hanabusa and Mazie Hirono released statements about President Barack Obama‘s announcement Friday that all U.S. troops would be out of Iraq by Jan. 1, 2012. 

The president left open the possibility of sending training forces back to Iraq “ just as we offer training and assistance to countries around the world,” he said, according to a transcript provided by the White House. 

Hanabusa said in a statement: “I am pleased many of our brave men and women will be able to spend the holidays with their families and friends. The drawdown from Iraq has been long awaited, and I applaud the President for fulfilling his promise.”

The promise she’s referring to is Obama’s 2008 campaign vow to end the war. Hirono also wrote about the president staying true to his word.

“President Obama made a promise to the American people to get us out of Iraq and it’s a promise he’s keeping,” she wrote. “The cost of this war – in the nearly 4,500 lives lost and the $1 trillion that has been added to our national debt – has been tragic.”