It's time to pay up.

The package of bills sponsored by state Reps. Ruth Rudy, D-Centre, and John Wozniak, D-Cambria, will go a long way to ensuring that children of divorced parents get what they deserve. That is, if the bills pass.

The five bills give lawmakers a few more weapons in their battle to make "deadbeat" parents pay up, a battle that has been difficult to say the least.

One of Rudy's bills would revoke professional licenses if parents do not pay their child support, while another would allow the department of welfare to intervene in child support cases without permission by the courts.

Wozniak will introduce a bill aimed at embarassing parents who don't pay by allowing their names to be published or broadcasted.

These bills should strike close to home at the University. A good number of students probably grew up in single-parent families, one parent struggling with the day-to-day costs of raising a child.

And chances are that a majority of students will move on to get married and start families. This isn't a perfect world, and divorces are a fact of life. These bills will make sure children aren't left out in the cold.

Support for the bills seems solid. Area students seem in agreement with its ideas and even state Rep. Lynn Herman, a Centre County Republican, praised the Democrat-sponsored bills.

There is no logical argument against these bills. But a similar set of bills was defeated in Harrisburg in the not-too-distant past.

Students who support these bills shouldn't wait to see if they pass -- a call of support to local representatives can only help.