Debbie Gramlick

The VA FOIA Officer Who Charged Fees for Suicide Prevention Records

Debbie Gramlick is the VHA FOIA Officer who determined that the Department of Veterans Affairs should charge $233.97 to reveal whether the government has any protocols for preventing suicide among veterans stranded overseas.

When that fee determination was appealed on September 30, 2025, citing both public interest and financial hardship, Gramlick’s office didn’t respond. Instead, 47 days later, she sent a new fee demand—completely ignoring the pending appeal as if it never existed.

The subject matter? Whether the VA Office of Mental Health & Suicide Prevention has policies to identify and support at-risk veterans who are geographically isolated overseas. In other words, protocols that could save veterans’ lives.

Timeline: Ignored Appeals and Fee Demands

Why This Matters

1. The Subject Matter is Life or Death

This isn’t a request for meeting minutes or travel expenses. This FOIA seeks to determine whether the VA—specifically the Office of Mental Health & Suicide Prevention—has any protocols whatsoever for identifying and supporting veterans who are:

• Stranded overseas
• Geographically isolated from VA services
• Experiencing mental health crises
• Expressing suicidal ideation
• Unreachable or having lost contact with VA

Twenty-two veterans commit suicide every day in the United States. Moreover, this request asks whether VA has systems in place to prevent those deaths among veterans who cannot access traditional VA mental health services because they’re overseas.

2. Charging Fees for Suicide Prevention Information is Unconscionable

The VA Office of Mental Health & Suicide Prevention is demanding $233.97 to reveal whether the government has any policies for preventing veteran suicides overseas. Let that sink in.

A veteran is stranded, homeless, and experiencing a mental health crisis in West Africa. The VA office whose entire mission is preventing veteran deaths is demanding payment before revealing whether they have protocols for helping veterans like him.

Furthermore, this is precisely the kind of government failure that fee waivers were designed to expose.

3. Ignoring Administrative Appeals is a Procedural Violation

Under 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A)(ii), agencies must make determinations on administrative appeals within 20 business days. While extensions are permitted, the agency must still respond.

Debbie Gramlick’s office did neither:

• No determination on the September 30 appeal
• No communication acknowledging the appeal
• No explanation for non-response
• No extension notification

Instead, VA proceeded as if the appeal never existed and issued a fee determination letter 47 days later. Additionally, this amounts to constructive denial of the appeal and creates an improper procedural barrier.

4. The October 30 Deadline Was Improper

Debbie’s October 16 letter threatened to administratively close the request if payment wasn’t received by October 30, 2025. However, this deadline was improper because:

• An administrative appeal was pending (filed September 30)
• VA cannot demand payment while a fee waiver appeal is unresolved
• The threat to close the request was coercive, designed to force payment of contested fees

5. Public Interest is Overwhelming

The public has a compelling interest in knowing whether the VA has protocols to prevent suicide among veterans stranded overseas. Specifically:

• Veterans and families need to know if VA will help them if stranded abroad
• Policymakers need to understand systemic gaps to allocate resources appropriately
• The public deserves transparency about whether VA is fulfilling its mission
• Other veterans may be in similar situations right now

If no such protocols exist, the public has a right to know. If protocols exist but weren’t followed in Sgt. Blas’s case, the public has a right to know that too.

The Case That Prompted This FOIA

What the Fee Waiver Appeal Said

The September 30, 2025 appeal—which Debbie’s office ignored—argued:

None of this prompted Debbie Gramlick to respond. Instead, she sent another fee demand.

Current Status