Collins, the committee’s ranking member, said the Homeland Security Act of 2002 gives the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) broad authority to set visa policy, including the power to revoke a visa. “Do you think there is confusion over the role of DHS in this area?” she asked Heyman.

Heyman denied that there was any confusion. Even under the old system, he said, authorities might have honed in on Abdulmutallab once he disembarked from the plane, and DHS might have advised the State Department not to reissue his visa. 
Very good, and they could have sent his body parts home C/O Allah and the  72 ugly virgins.
Committee Chairman Sen. Joe Lieberman expressed disappointment on the Obama administration’s progress in creating a secure visa protocol.

“When the Department of Homeland Security was created, Congress included a provision establishing the Visa Security Program, which gave DHS the authority to set visa policy, and to deploy law enforcement officers to consulates in order to oversee the visa-issuing process,” Lieberman said.

“The idea was to ensure that security considerations were given the weight they deserve. Eight years later, I’m sorry to say it seems clear this program has not been a priority for either department,” Lieberman said.
The relationship between our federal government and the citizens is called a social contract. The people agree to pay taxes, follow laws etc., and the government agrees to protect the people's lives, liberty, and property. Sound familiar? John Locke called those three items our natural rights. In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson made it more flowery, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.” The number one priority of that social contract is guaranteeing our safety.

What Obama and his DHS don't understand is that without the guarantee of protection from outside forces there is no use for a national government. Local governments can build their own sewers or name their own streets. Obamas number one job is to make sure when we wake up in the morning there is no hole in our roofs from a plane that was blown up over our heads.

That's it, the basic role of government is making sure that when my children leave the house, some crazy terrorist is not going to attack them. An administration that can't find a way to make public safety its #1 priority is like an accountant who can't count to ten; USELESS !