[Will congress repeal the 1500 hour rule?]
The ATP rule isn't just about hours. Forcing pilots to build time before being a regional jet FO, makes it more likely that they will gain aeronautical decision making experience. Otherwise, you will once again get pilots upgrading to regional jet captain after only having PIC time they accumulated getting their commercial pilot certificate. All those pilots PIC decisions were made in the 100 hours required to get his commercial pilot certificate.
If hours don't matter, why aren't the people willing to repeal the ATP rule also willing to get rid of ALL hourly requirements for obtaining pilot certificates?