; and (2) in the first sentence, by inserting or Civil Service after the Service . (b) Conforming amendment The item relating to section 614 in the table of contents of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 is amended to read as follows: Sec. 614. Department awards. . 310. Diplomatic and consular programs (a) Authorization of appropriations For Diplomatic and Consular Programs , there is authorized to be appropriated $8,720,411,000 for fiscal year 2019. (b) Sense of Congress on workforce recruitment It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary should continue to hold entry-level classes for Foreign Service officers and specialists and continue to recruit civil servants through programs such as the Presidential Management Fellows Program and Pathways Internship Programs in a manner and at a frequency consistent with prior years and consistent with the need to maintain a pool of experienced personnel effectively distributed across skill codes and ranks. It is further the sense of Congress that absent continuous recruitment and training of Foreign Service officers and civil servants, the Department will lack experienced, qualified personnel in the short, medium, and long term. (c) Limitation The Secretary may not use any amounts made available pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under subsection (a) for any reduction-in-force action under section 3502 or 3595 of title 5, United States Code, or for any incentive payments for early separation or retirement under any other provision of law unless— (1) the appropriate congressional committees are notified not less than 15 days in advance of such obligation or expenditure; and (2) the Secretary has provided to the appropriate congressional committees a detailed report that describes the Department’s strategic staffing plan, including— (A) a justification that describes how any proposed workforce reduction enhances the effectiveness of the Department; (B) a certification that such workforce reduction is in the national interest of the United States