Washington ( CNN ) -- Senate Republicans promised Wednesday to block legislative action on every issue being considered by the lame-duck Congress until the dispute over extending the Bush-era tax cuts is resolved and an extension of current government funding is approved . All 42 Senate Republicans signed a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid , D-Nevada , vowing to prevent a vote on `` any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers . '' `` With little time left in this congressional session , legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities . While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate 's attention , we can not agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike , '' the letter said . The 2001 and 2003 tax cuts enacted by former President George W. Bush will expire after December 31 if Congress fails to reach an agreement on their extension . Top Democrats and Republicans disagree sharply over whether the current tax rates should be extended just for families earning $ 250,000 or under per year or for everyone regardless of income . Republicans contend that a failure to extend all of the tax cuts would hamper an already-sluggish economy . President Barack Obama and Democratic congressional leaders argue that the roughly $ 700 billion price tag attached to an extension of the tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans would be fiscally irresponsible . White House and congressional tax negotiators began deliberations Wednesday morning . Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner characterized the initial talks as `` very civil '' and said that while everything was discussed , there were no surprises . House Democrats , meanwhile , announced their intention to move forward with a vote Thursday to permanently extend the breaks only for families earning $ 250,000 or less . Speaker Nancy Pelosi , D-California , called the move necessary to show `` our position very clearly that Democrats support tax cuts for the middle class . '' House Minority Whip Eric Cantor , R-Virginia , called it a `` non-starter '' and `` political chicanery '' that threatened to undermine the talks . On the spending side , a continuing resolution responsible for funding the government is scheduled to expire Friday . Democrats are trying to pass several pieces of legislation before a more Republican Congress is sworn in in January , including the START nuclear arms treaty with Russia , a repeal of the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military , and the so-called DREAM Act , which would create a path to citizenship for young illegal immigrants . Reid blasted the GOP letter on the Senate floor Wednesday morning , calling it part of a `` cynical '' and transparent '' Republican strategy to `` obstruct '' and `` delay '' legislative progress while blaming the Democrats for failing to effectively govern . `` Last month , the American people issued their verdict on the Democrat 's priorities , '' replied Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell , R-Kentucky . `` We need to show the American people that we care more about them and their ability to pay their bills than we do about the special interests ' legislative Christmas-list . '' CNN 's Dana Bash , Ted Barrett and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report .
House will vote December 31 on extending cuts for those making $ roughly $ 700 billion or less . Democrats promise to block legislative progress until tax , spending issues resolved . The Bush -era tax cuts are scheduled to expire Thursday . Republicans are trying to pass a range of priorities in the lame duck session .