Wis. Sen. Johnson slams Obama for economic policy "failure"

Updated 10:45 a.m. ET

(CBS News) In the Republican weekly address, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) blamed the president for American "dependence on government."

"Instead of concentrating on job creation, President Obama has concentrated on growing government and increasing its control over our lives," Johnson said. "Because of his policies, dependence on government has increased, and individual opportunity has declined."

At least one analysis takes issue with Senator Johnson's statement. According to the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute, government jobs have decreased by 584,000 at the federal, state and local level since June of 2009.

The senator, who was elected in 2010, added: "We are all disappointed by the failure of President Obama's economic policies."

Johnson pointed to recent unanimous votes in the House and the Senate against the president's budget plan, calling it a "stunning repudiation of his leadership."

Johnson represents a state in the middle of a divisive recall election of Republican Governor Scott Walker, the lieutenant governor and four state Senators, which is set to take place on June 5.

"President Obama offers no solutions," Johnson said, adding that none of his budget blueprints "ever included a plan to save Social Security or Medicare."

The freshman senator said, "The president and members of his administration are true believers in big government. They point to the 46 million Americans now on food stamps as a metric of success. It is not. It is a metric of failure that highlights how his policies have not put Americans back to work."

In this election year, Johnson, who is Mitt Romney's liaison to the Senate, said, "Republicans are ready, willing, and able to lead this noble effort."