and restraint. toward this end, i am directing that any new proposal or initiative large other small, be it policy, program or ceremony, come with a cost estimate. that price tag will help us determine whether what we are gaining or hope to gain is really worth the cost. either in dollar terms or in the diversion of limited manpower and resources from other missions. >> reporter: no price tag to this specific proposal right now. gates has already trimmed several weapons programs for what he says is an eventual $300 billion in savings. but there is plenty more out there that they aren't touching right now, including military health care spending. that's one of the issues that's very political and right now appears to be untouchable in these budget cuts. john, kiran? >> barbara starr for us this morning, thanks so much. we're going to be talking more about what it means to be an empowered patient. elizabeth cohen wrote a book about why it's so important to