Two years ago, one regional had hiring minimums of 450hrs total time, with 50hrs in multiengine! 1500TT is required for the ATP, 500 of which needs to be cross-country time (flight greater than 50nm from departure point). It takes a couple of years of instructing to approach those hours.
As much as I hate the government making laws that screw with the free market, the public will get more experienced pilots as a result of this one, should it go through.