When President George W. Bush took office in 2001, many observers anticipated a change in the regulatory atmosphere of Washington. Relief was desperately needed, and the new administration seemed to clearly appreciate the detrimental impact that burdensome regulations were having on the economy. In 2001, Americans faced a bill of more than $800 billion each year to comply with regulations produced by Washington’s alphabet soup of federal agencies. Moreover, estimates indicated that small businesses paid a disproportionately large share of the total regulatory burden. For firms employing fewer than 20 employees, the annual regulatory burden in 2000 was estimated to be $6,975 per employee – nearly 60% higher than the $4,463 estimated for firms with more than 500 employees....