By Adam Graham-Silverman, CQ Staff

Sen. Richard G. Lugar has said it before and he’ll say it again: He’s not interested in becoming President-elect Obama’s secretary of State.

If asked, “I would say to my friend, President Obama, that I’m very appreciative of his thoughtfulness,” Lugar, the top Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said this morning after a speech to the Alliance to End Hunger.

He said he could do more for his home state of Indiana and the country by staying in the Senate. Lugar, who won a sixth term in 2006 without facing a Democratic opponent, has not talked to Obama since the election. The president-elect invoked his name a number of times in the campaign, saying that he relied on Lugar for foreign policy advice.

In his speech, Lugar said he and Sen. Bob Casey , D-Pa., would reintroduce their global hunger legislation (S 3529) in the 111th Congress. The bill would authorize almost $10 billion in new food spending over five years and create a “hunger czar” to develop a global food strategy.

Rep. Jim McGovern , D-Mass., who also spoke at the Alliance meeting , spearheaded a letter signed by 116 House members that was hand-delivered to Obama transition chief John Podesta on Wednesday. It also urged the creation of a hunger post in the new administration.

Lugar acknowledged, however, that the idea may face a tough path in the new Congress, given the tight budget times.

“The question once again will be the priorities that the congressional leadership places on things,” he said.