Mario Tama/Getty Images Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday doubled down on her call for a fresh wave of $1,200 direct payments to Americans amid the coronavirus pandemic and ensuing unemployment. "If people don't get UI assistance, and if they don't get a stimulus check, then relief isn't going to be felt in their lives, not in a substantive way," Ocasio-Cortez told NBC News. Rep. Rashida Tlaib and GOP Sen. Josh Hawley are also other members of Congress urging a second round of stimulus checks.