Republican state lawmakers say the budget is so awful nobody from their party will vote for it Thursday.

?This budget will take a fiscal crisis and transform it into a monumental catastrophe,? says Assembly Leader Alex DeCroce.

Lawmakers spent Monday holding hearings on the budget and the plan to put it to a vote in the coming days. The Republican opposition isn?t likely to matter, as Democrats have enough votes to pass it on their own.

Republicans say Gov. Jon Corzine is only balancing the budget by depending on stimulus funds from the federal government. Funds they say may not be available next year.

?This budget is the perfect storm and it's going to come back and drown us all,? says state Sen. Anthony Bucco, budget officer.

Democratic leaders say Republicans aren?t helping to solve the state?s fiscal woes, except for school funding cuts Democrats call a drop in the bucket.

?I welcome their arguments,? says Assemblyman Lou Greenwald, the budget committee chairman. ?I just wish they'd offer solutions.?