White House officials have made no secret in recent days that President Obama will use the State of the Union Address to say that he is ready to use "executive actions" to push forward on a variety of issues; that has spawned criticism from Republicans who argue the President might be overstepping his authority in trying to bypass the Congress and implement his agenda.
But maybe the best question to pose is - can executive actions really achieve much?
Yes, a President does have a lot of powers given to him (and the Executive Branch) by the Congress to implement laws already on the books, as the feds issue new rules and regulations.
But in terms of plowing brand new ground, you can't do too much that's new - unless the Congress has given the Executive Branch the power to do that.
One plan that will be part of tonight's speech would be an executive order that requires a higher minimum wage under new federal contracts; it would be aimed mainly at lower wage workers doing contract business with the federal government - but not workers in the private sector.
Some estimates are the order would cover several hundred thousand contract federal employees in the future.
The Obama Administration idea of using executive powers isn't something new.
In the 2013 State of the Union, President Obama promised to act unilaterally on climate change if the Congress would not do something about it.
In November, the President issued an executive order on "Preparing the United States for the impact of climate change."
To those who oppose action on climate change, the idea of executive orders on the subject sound like a President going around the Congress - but when you examine what this executive order does - the answer is, not that much
You can read the executive order on climate change at the White House website.
So, as we await the details of this year's 'executive actions' - let's look at another example from last year, when the President said he would push forward with 23 different executive efforts on gun control.
Mr. Obama's own words would seem to undercut just how important these changes would prove to be for the effort on gun control:
"These are a few of the 23 executive actions that I’m announcing today, but as important as these steps are, they are in no way a substitute for action from members of Congress. To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act, and Congress must act soon."
In other words, he needs the Congress to make big changes when it comes to gun control, and these executive moves just sort of nibble around the edges.
Here is the list of the 23 gun control 'executive actions' announced last year by the White House:
1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.
2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.
3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.
4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.
5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.
6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.
7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign. 8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).
9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.
10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.
11. Nominate an ATF director.
12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.
13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.
14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.
15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.
16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.
17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.
18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.
19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.
20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.
21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.
22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.
23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.
Most of these 'executive actions' made barely a ripple in terms of news and action; they certainly did not merit much in the way of front page headlines.
Could it be that the threat of "executive actions" might sound big - but the reality of last year's very public effort on gun control is that the impact may be much more limited?
Let's see what the White House rolls out in coming weeks and months.
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