36 U.S.C. § 220512

In obtaining representation for the United States in each competition and event of the Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Pan-American Games, and Parapan American Games, the corporation, either directly or by delegation to the appropriate national governing body, may select, but is not obligated to select (even if not selecting will result in an incomplete team for an event), athletes who have not met the eligibility standard of the national governing body and the corporation when the number of athletes who have met the eligibility standards of such entities is insufficient to fill the roster for an event.