HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s state House Republican majority on Tuesday revealed more details of its counterproposal to Gov. Tom Corbett’s budget plan as it explores alternatives to deep cuts to public education, largely by squeezing money out of public welfare programs.

While they disagreed with Corbett over his education cuts, House GOP members would maintain the $27.3 billion bottom line set by the Republican governor that would cut overall spending by nearly 3 percent from approved spending in the current fiscal year without raising any taxes. They also would leave in reserve a budget surplus that had reached a half-billion dollars by the end of April.

“The goal is to have an on-time, no tax-increase budget without reckless borrowing and that prioritizes spending and does so within the four corners of the governor’s blueprint,” said House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny. “And it means that you don’t get to spend every dollar of the taxpayers’ money that comes in. It means you have to be prudent and smart about it.”

The House GOP plan would restore $380 million to 18 state-supported universities and $210 million to public schools above what Corbett proposed. However, it would squeeze about $470 million out of the Department of Public Welfare, in part by slashing 4 percent from some major safety-net programs in an effort to combat what Republicans call fraud, waste and abuse, and expanding by $50 million the co-payments for some optional services under the Medicaid program or services that are used by higher-earning families.

“It’s not as if we are raiding this Department of (Public) Welfare,” said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Bill Adolph, R-Delaware. “That is a very small decrease that we took out of the Corbett budget, and was able to balance it with new thinking policies.”

The House GOP plan also would trim vacant jobs in state government, cut the Legislature’s funding by $15 million, or about 5 percent, and ease some of Corbett’s cuts to hospitals that treat a disproportionately high number of uninsured patients, although exact figures were not available.

More details were expected to be available today, and committee and floor votes are expected later this month. The fiscal year ends June 30. Under the state constitution, budget legislation must begin in the House and would need Senate approval before being sent to Corbett’s desk.

A spokesman for the Senate Republicans, who control the upper chamber, said the caucus shares many of the House GOP priorities, in terms of reducing the spending cuts, and that it would look for Corbett’s response to the House GOP’s proposed changes to public welfare programs.

“We have not heard from the governor that their welfare spending proposal can work, and without that sign-off from the governor, it obviously can’t be enacted,” spokesman Erik Arneson said.

Senate Democrats welcomed the House GOP’s move to reverse some of Corbett’s cuts to education, but said they want to learn more details about it, particularly how Department of Public Welfare programs would be affected.

The plan “seems to balance itself on the backs of working families, children and folks who want to go to work,” said Sen. Vincent Hughes, D-Philadelphia. “That’s not fair.”

To absorb a $4.2 billion projected deficit in the fiscal year beginning July 1, Corbett has proposed $2.6 billion in spending cuts and other measures that do not require raising taxes.

His biggest proposed cuts were to education, slashing more than $1.6 billion in state aid for public schools and the 18 universities, drawing criticism from both Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature.

Many of the state’s school districts, particularly the poorest ones, are preparing to raise taxes, layoff staff, end programs or close buildings to absorb expected cuts in state aid. University leaders have also warned about belt-tightening, including the potential that tuition would have to rise.

Under the House GOP plan, the State System of Higher Education, which includes 14 universities, would see a 15 percent cut in state aid from the current fiscal year. Four state-related universities — Penn State, Pittsburgh, Temple and Lincoln — would see a 25 percent reduction in state aid.