Steve Hymon at LA Metro's The Source blog claims this graphic makes the America Fast Forward bond program easy to understand. We're not convinced (you can see it full-sized if you click on the link to the Source below). But the basic idea is that AFF bonds are tax credit bonds -- whereby the federal government subsidizes most or all of the interest by granting investors annual tax credits in lieu of interest. The US Treasury Department would set the maximum reimbursable rate for the bonds each day, enabling them to be sold at their face amount without interest cost to the issuer. The hope is that Metro and transit advocates can get the bond program enshrined in the next federal transportation reauthorization, which will hopefully get approved next year when the current reauthorization expires. The America Fast Forward initiative included both the bond program and the low-interest TIFIA loan program which, unlike the bond program, was adopted last year. We hope the TIFIA program will be included in the reauthorization as well.
See a larger version of the diagram here.