Three U.S. Democrats will take on the 'Live the Wage Challenge' on Thursday marking the fifth year since Congress approved the last increase in the country's minimum wage.

The trio includes Illinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky with Ohio's Rep. Tim Ryan and Ohio ex-governor Ted Strickland.

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From July 24 to July 30, Schakowsky, Ryan and Strickland will live on US$77 to "step into the shoes of a minimum wage worker."

For one week, the politicians will keep track of their experiences on social media in an attempt to determine the challenges faced by regular Americans who earn minimum salary throughout the country.

According to LiveTheWage.com, an American working full-time on minimum wage only has US$290 per week. After paying for housing costs and taxes, the budget is trimmed down to only US$77 per week to spend on food, transportation and other daily expenses.

'Live The Wage', a project supported by over 60 labor groups and liberal organizations, are challenging Americans to try to experience the life of a minimum wage earner for a week with only US$77 or US$7.25 per hour in their pockets.

A labor-funded group called Americans United for Change called on member of the Congress to take the challenge before discussing a potential 40 percent minimum wage increase.

"Live the wage before refusing to raise the wage. These tone deaf members might just change their tune if they had a little perspective," American United for Change president Brad Woodhouse stated.

In response, the trio accepted the challenge with Strickland saying that full-time legitimate workers should not be forced to "choose between food and electricity every month."

However, some were unimpressed with the gesture. Michael Saltsman, from the Employment Policies Institute deemed the politicians' gesture as a failure to address the real problem in the country.

"Instead of a substantive discussion about whether a higher minimum wage is the best way to reduce poverty, labor unions and the mind-boggling array of groups they fund have organized an election-year publicity stunt," he stated.

TagsIllinois Rep. Jan Schakowsky, Rep. Tim Ryan, ex-governor Ted Strickland, Live the Wage, US Congress