Conference offers shutdown guarantee

Companies are doing all they can to keep business moving in Washington as the government hangs on the edge of a potential shutdown.

No one knows what’s going to happen in the next few hours or days, and many federal employees are leery about booking a training session. If they pay to register and then get furloughed, they might lose the money or even have to pay a cancellation fee.

But the Potomac Forum is giving feds a worry-free solution. It’s offering a special no-risk shutdown cancellation policy.

If feds register for the forum's April 13 training workshop and agencies end up being closed that day, the government won’t be charged one cent.

“In the event of a government ‘shutdown,’ [there will be] no cancellation fee and all registration charges will either be returned or used for the workshop held at a new date — at the option of the student,” the e-mail notice states.

The workshop will focus on improper payments and how to recognize and prevent wastefulness. The organizer might have given feds another valuable lesson: how to spot a good deal.