Sen. Richard Durbin, D-IL., one of the fiercest Congressional critics of Bank of America’s $5  monthly debt card fee celebrated the announcement today that the bank is abandoning this approach as a win for Americans who stood up and left the bank because of the charge.

“It is a good thing because it is an indication to me that the consumers across America have a much larger voice in this process today than they did even a few weeks ago,” Durbin said on the Senate floor this afternoon. “I said customers of these banks should vote with their feet. Start looking for another bank; find a bank or a credit union that treats them in the manner they want to be treated – fairly and respectfully. Well, the message got out. And that message ended up creating a substantial move of customers from some banking credit institutions to others.”

Bank of America announced today that they are completly scrapping their planned $5 monthly debit card fee, a reversal of its announcement in late September.

Senator Durbin said the update represents the benefits of a free-market economy, in which customers have a choice in where they do business.

“I hope it is the beginning of a trend,” Durbin said. “Consumers are now saying they’ll only do business with banks that care about serving them instead of squeezing them.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT., also celebrated the news, saying it represents Americans standing up to the “the greed of Wall Street.”

“Bank of America, like other banks that were going to go forward in opposing these fees, did not withdraw them because they were nice guys,” Sanders said. “They withdrew because American people said, Enough is enough in terms of the greed of Wall Street.”