Dealing with mandated programs versus discretionary programs is among the budget challenges faced by public administrators. In essence, a mandated program is one that is required by law or directive, while a discretionary program is one that is tied to a service or function the government wishes to provide, but which is not specifically required by law. For example, law enforcement might be mandated to provide investigation of crimes, but not to engage in crime prevention programs within the community.For this discussion, address the following questions:What might be the rationale for unfunded mandates?What are the potential challenges for a public administrator in providing mandatory programs, but not discretionary ones, based on limited funding?What might be the potential challenges for a public administrator in providing discretionary programs, but not all mandated ones, based on limited funding and greater public support for the discretionary program than the mandated ones?