Politics / Senate Finance Committee It's Now or Never for Health Care Reform: Grassley Election politics will only make reform more difficult, Grassley says By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff Posted Mar 19, 2009 1:33 PM CDT Copied Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 17, 2009, following the weekly policy luncheon. (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg) Barack Obama’s promised health care reform must happen this year—or it won't happen at all in the next four years, says a key GOP senator. Charles Grassley—he'll play a major role in any new legislation as the ranking Republican on the finance panel—warns that election politics will make reform nearly impossible to enact after 2009, Reuters reports. As of now, both the House and the Senate expect to be voting on measures this summer. (More Senate Finance Committee stories.) Report an error