> but rather to the (common?) phenomenon of government issuing a RFP or similar with unnecessary requirements/specifications that purposefully exclude certain p

> but rather to the (common?) phenomenon of government issuing a RFP or similar with unnecessary requirements/specifications that purposefully exclude certain possible suppliers, or are even tailored specifically to a certain product, while ostensibly allowing for a bidding process. Correct. Also incredibly common. By the time they are discovered the money is already spent and the system is implemented. Not much can be done then.