(CNN) -- Raising the minimum wage continues to be a top Democratic economic priority, insisting that higher pay is critical to helping lift the working poor out of poverty. Some members of Congress put their money where their mouth is. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio is one Democratic lawmaker who took the "live the wage challenge" -- to live on pay of $7.25 per hour for one week. The effort promoted by Americans United for Change, an advocacy group funded in large part by labor unions, was established to mark the fifth anniversary of the last federal increase in the minimum wage.
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Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio took the minimum wage challenge
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His family of five lived off the minimum wage for one week
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Some were critical of his efforts, saying it pales in comparison to what low-wage workers face
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Obama and Democrats have pushed to raise the minimum wage
"Our job (in @placeholder) is to go understand to the best we can what our constituents need and I'm not going to apologize for that," he said.